A2D Radio

Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Joe Burrow, Jalen Hurts, Aaron Donald, Patrick Surtain, Sauce Gardner, Justin Jefferson, and Ja’Marr Chase are just a handful of examples of NFL players whom many would consider are franchise cornerstones. So, if you were to build an NFL team from scratch, what would your draft look like? Which players and positions would be prioritized before others? The hosts at BOAF are here to turn those questions into action as they put their GM caps on and take turns drafting a whole 22-man starting roster! This is the 2023 ALL-BIRDS OF A FEATHER DRAFT! The first half of their draft will be this week, while the second half will be next week. In the end, it’ll be up to you to decide who ended up with the best team! The quarterbacks should be off the board early, but then what? Will Aaron Donald be the first non-QB taken? How long before we see the first RB selected? What type of defensive schemes will they base their selections off? There should be a lot of different strategies involved, which will make this very interesting to say the least! To end the show the BOAF panel goes “NO HUDDLE” as they discuss anything and everything else surrounding the NFL, sports, and anything else that we find worth discussing!

Joining Markus this week is former Philadelphia Eagles player and current NBC Sports Philadelphia analyst Barrett Brooks as they discuss the most prominent question marks regarding the Eagles' offense and defense. Clearly, they have new coordinators filling on both sides of the ball, but the bigger question is regarding Sean Desai who is coming in from Pete Carroll’s system with the Seattle Seahawks to be the defensive coordinator. Matt Patricia, former Detroit Lions head coach, is a part of new hires on the defensive staff that raise concerns. Thanks to the draft class of 2023, featuring Jalen Carter and Nolan Smith, there should not be a major issue regarding the defense. The Eagles have one of the hardest strengths of schedule in the league, despite this they are the favorites to win the NFC East. Can they repeat for the first time since 2004?

Former Philadelphia Eagles players Irving Fryar and Hollis Thomas will talk about who has made the most progress in the NFC East during the off-season and the challenges the Eagles will face in their own division. Who between the Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants, and Washington Commanders have made the biggest improvements to challenge the Eagles for the division title this season? With that, have Howie Roseman and the rest of the Eagles made enough improvements for them to possibly repeat as division champions? Irving and Hollis will also discuss whether or not Nick Sirianni is a real-deal coach. Where does Sirianni rank amongst other coaches like Andy Reid, Bill Belichick, and Pete Carroll? Knowing his relationship with Jalen Hurts rest of the roster and the city of Philadelphia embracing him after their Super Bowl run, is he in the upper echelon of coaches? To conclude the show as always, Hollis gives his history lesson in “History with Hollis.” What will Hollis talk about this week?

Joining Les Bowen today is NFL Network reporter James Palmer. Les and James are going to take a look at the feud growing between the San Francisco 49ers and the Philadelphia Eagles. Also, Bowen plans to get Palmer to weigh in on the influx of Georgia Bulldogs on the Eagles roster. In addition, Les wants to ask James about growing up in the Philly area as the son of well-known local sports anchor Scott Palmer, and then deciding to follow in his father’s path. Later in the show, since James is based in Denver now, Les expects to ask about the difference in the fan bases, the Denver Broncos’ switch to Sean Payton, and what James makes of the reports that the Philadelphia Eagles nearly traded for former Seattle Seahawks and current Denver Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson early in 2022.

Who are the most hated Eagles, Phillies, Flyers, and 76ers in the last 20 years? Jalen Reagor, Ben Simmons, even former manager Gabe Kapler? The panel will break that all down as they figure out who the most hated players, GMs, or coaches in the city in the last 20 years. The panel will then conduct a live draft of their most hated figures with each host selecting their “starters” for the most hated figures in Philadelphia.

The NHL Draft is complete, and development camps are underway! We are officially on the back end of the NHL Offseason and preparing for camps to open in September. The Philadelphia Flyers held the seventh spot in the NHL Draft. There were lots of questions for the team leading up to their pick in Round 1 on who should be their selection. The Flyers wound up taking Matvei Michkov at seven, and many fans were thrilled. He was one of the Top 5 scoring position players in the draft. Michkov has a lot of hype behind him with his ability to shoot the puck and create offense. Reports indicate that he does have character issues, so it will be interesting to see where things go. Who was your favorite pick in the NHL Draft? NHL Free Agency opened on July 1st, and there was a lot of Day 1 action! The Flyers did make a couple of deals from the outside, with grinder Garnet Hathaway being the big name they signed this offseason. He plays a style head coach John Tortorella likes as he is a big physical player and can be good on the forecheck. They also brought in another Torts-style player in defenseman Marc Staal. His leadership and experience make him a great addition to a young locker room. Additionally, Rhett Gardner, Ryan Phoeling, and Victor Mete signed deals with the Flyers. Phoeling and Mete were signed to one-year deals, while Gardner got a two-year contract. The Flyers made some key RFA signings as well, inking Noah Cates, Cam York, and Ronnie Attard to two-year deals. With the rebuild in full swing, the future for the Flyers is starting to look brighter. There has been a flurry of moves in the NHL since the free-agency period began. The Boston Bruins did make noise on Day 1 by signing forward James van Riemsdyk and defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk. The Bruins also made a bunch of other smaller deals to add depth to the roster. The Anaheim Ducks made a couple of splashes as well, signing defenseman Radko Gudas and two-time Stanley Cup champion Alex Killorn. They could be two major pieces that help get the Ducks back to the playoffs sooner than later. However, many teams are getting better by signing free agents. One organization made a big splash in the trade market, the Detroit Red Wings. They acquired the services of Alex DeBrincat in a trade with the Ottawa Senators and then signed him to a four-year contract. The guys will break down all these moves and much more live on the air.

The MLB season has reached the All-Star break and our poll will focus on where the MLB all-star game ranks among the others in sports. Who will become the winners of this year’s All-Star Game: Nick Castellanos, Craig Kimbrel, and the National League or the Texas Rangers-loaded American League? We will also discuss the current events of the MLB including the upcoming trade deadline and second half predictions. Doug Mientkiewicz returns from his venture with the USA 18u National Team. We will discuss the future stars of the game as well as discuss the MLB draft. We will also discuss the current events of the NBA as the off-season continues. With the Philadelphia 76ers not doing much, we will focus on their competition in the Eastern Conference.

On the ninth episode of The Rob Ellis Show, Rob speaks with former Philadelphia Eagles, analyst and motivational speaker, Kevin Reilly. Kevin grew up in Wilmington, Delaware, he played college football at Villanova and played in the NFL for the Eagles and New England Patriots. Kevin also lost his arm to cancer and overcame that to become a successful businessman, author, and motivational speaker. After the interview, Rob will give his thoughts on the State of Philadelphia Sports. The Philadelphia Phillies have reached the halfway point of the MLB season with a record of 48-41, Rob will look ahead to the second half of the season, where he thinks the Phillies will finish and the upcoming MLB trade deadline. The Philadelphia 76ers have had a quiet offseason so far, but could this be the calm before the storm? Is a massive trade looming in the distance? Is James Harden on his way out? Could another big name potentially be on their way in? The Eagles are gearing up to report to training camp in just two weeks, does this team have what it takes to get back to the Super Bowl? Or does Nick Siriani have his work cut out for him at camp?

Philadelphia and New York, two cities that rival each other across the world of sports. Whether its the Philadelphia Eagles vs the New York Giants, the Philadelphia Flyers vs the New York Rangers, or the Philadelphia Phillies vs the New York Mets, these two cities are forever locked in conflict. Tonight, we rank the top ten athletes in each of our respective sports cities today, breaking down each of the teams each city hosts and their top athletes. There’s plenty of talent through New York through the numerous teams, whereas Philly just has one NFL, MLB, NHL and NBA team. Who will make the cut and who will be left out? Mets finally string some wins together before the All Star Break and give the fans just a little hope. It’ll be interesting as they approach the All Star Break with who will be buyers and who will be sellers? Will the Mets ship off guys like Mark Canha or Tommy Pham? Will the Phillies be looking to find a guy to replace Schwarber in the outfield? The Home Run Derby takes place tonight, and Jordan and Luke will break down their biggest takeaways from tonight’s contest. A lot of big bats came to win and some unexpected guys as well. Who will win this slugfest in Seattle? Will Pete Alonso win another one or will it be hometown hero Julio Rodriguez? Our hosts finish off the show highlighting a team or player that opened their eyes this past week in sports, maybe a guy on the move or a team trending in one direction or another. These shoutouts are meant for either success or just quality humor.

On today’s episode of “Here's The Thing,” Thomas Arnone and former Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Mitch Williams discuss the previous week of Phillies action against the Tampa Bay Rays and the Miami Marlins. The Philadelphia Phillies started the week off hot as they swept the Tampa Bay Rays. The Phillies came back in the top of the 9th inning to take the first game in the Marlins series thanks to a pinch hit home run from Cristian Pache. That unfortunately was the highlight of the weekend series in Miami as the Phillies struggled on Saturday and Sunday. Starters Ranger Suarez and Aaron Nola gave up early 1st inning runs that put the Phillies in catch-up mode from the start. Bryce Harper was hit by a pitch directly on the elbow he had surgery on, was pulled from Saturday's game, and sat out Sunday’s game as a precaution. The MLB All Star break seems to be coming at a perfect time for the Phillies. The Phillies stretched their road win streak to 13 games before losing the final two games in Miami. After ending the Florida road trip with a 4-2 record this was still a successful road trip despite how it ended. Join Thomas and Mitch and let them know if you Agree or Disagree with the poll. Starting the road trip 4-0 had the Phillies rolling but struggled to close the first half of the season. The MLB trade deadline is the next major event on the season calendar and will be coming up on August 1st. Thomas and Mitch will discuss what if anything will the Phillies do. Major move for another top-end starting pitcher or do they look for a right-handed power bat to play either left field or first base? After returning from the All-Star break the Phillies will host the San Diego Padres for four games in three nights starting Friday night July 14th. They have a scheduled day-night doubleheader scheduled for Saturday. The Phillies selected Aidan Miller SS/3B with their first-round pick in yesterday’s MLB Draft. Thomas and Mitch will give their thoughts on what they like or dislike about this pick. Miller was the highest-ranked player (#13) left on the MLB Network’s Top Draft Prospect rankings when selected. To round things out, Thomas Arnone and Mitch Williams will have a catch. Not literally…but Tommy will be throwing some questions to Mitch who will fire back with some raw thoughts.