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.
Sixers Prepare for Draft Lottery
On Monday, the Sixers will be hoping for some lottery luck as the NBA Draft order will be announced. The top prize, obviously, is Duke’s Cooper Flagg, but the Sixers may be looking at pick #6 as the most likely outcome. In the event that happens, perhaps the Sixers can look to Flagg’s teammate Khaman Maluach. Maluach is a towering 7-foot-2 and possesses a rare rim-protecting ability. His offensive needs refinement, especially his shooting, but with Joel Embiid’s murky health, the Sixers could use a fallback plan. Should Embiid not be able to return to full health or return at all, the Sixers could use a young big with an elite toolbox to work with.
The 2025 NBA Draft Lottery will be broadcast live on ESPN. You can also stream it on ESPN+ as well. The event begins at 7:00 p.m. EST.
Union Pick up Point in 2-2 Draw With Crew
The Union picked up one standings point in their 2-2 tie against Columbus Crew SC on Saturday night. Of course, this match is also the first that Danny Gazdag has played in Philadelphia since his trade to Columbus as well. Gazdag, who brought back up to $4,500,000 to Philly in the trade, has appeared in four matches for the Crew but has yet to score since being acquired. He was honored with a short video tribute prior to the match.
In the first half, Tai Baribo opened the scoring in the 45th minute. Later in the 64th minute, Frankie Westfield scored his first career goal. The Union will play host to the LA Galaxy on Wednesday May 14. Matchday 13 is set to begin at 7:30 p.m. and will be broadcast on Apple TV.
Phils Clip Guardians to win Series on Mother’s Day
The Phillies picked up their fifth consecutive series win behind Kyle Schawrber and Zach Wheeler on Sunday. Although Luis Ortiz pitched well, Wheeler was excellent. The Phillies’ ace delivered 7 shutout innings while giving up just 3 hits and 2 walks in the win. Schwarber, on the other hand, notched his 13th and 14th homers of the year. In fact, Schwarber’s 14 home runs are the most in the NL this season. He’s also tied with Aaron Judge for the league lead.
Schwarber is heading to free agency this winter and will likely demand top dollar. This is his final season on a four-year, $79 million deal and according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan, Schwarber talent and leadership could be commanding a $100 million deal on his next contract.
Of course, how the Phillies finish this season will determine whether or not that would be wise to bring him back on such deal. However, he has no doubt earned such a deal from someone.
