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Nuns On The Bus Visit Philadelphia To Highlight Affordable Housing Need

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PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — A group of nuns visited Philadelphia to highlight the need for affordable housing.

The Nuns on the Bus joined the Women’s Community Revitalization Project on Thursday at the Grace Community Townhomes in East Kensington.

They were there to promote tax credits that would benefit housing development.

Sister Mary Ellen Lacy of Nuns on the Bus say they’re promoting social justice activity and are against lawmakers who voted for President Donald Trump’s tax cuts.

“They voted for something that harmed the people that voted for them and it’s not right. So we’re telling people, this is how your person voted and who we elect matters,” said Lacy.

Lacy says the nuns will be in 21 states in 27 days for 54 events.

Source: https://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2018/10/25/nuns-on-the-bus-visit-philadelphia-to-highlight-affordable-housing-need/

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This month in Technical.ly history: Remember when Venmo was a Philly startup?

For Technical.ly’s 10-year anniversary, we’re diving deep into the archives for nostalgic, funny or note-worthy updates. This is part of a year-long series.

In 2009, a blog called TechnicallyPhilly.com began to chronicle the budding tech ecosystem growing in Philadelphia.

And sure, while updates from the better-known Comcast or the University of Pennsylvania had their space, the blog excelled at covering the rising cadre of companies that were the lifeblood of the tech community: like video-sharing platform RedLasso, or mobile payments company Venmo.

Yup, you read that right. In case you didn’t know, the story of Venmo — that app you likely used a bit ago to settle a bar tab — begins in Philly.

It was at a Philadelphia jazz show that founders Andrew Kortina and Iqram Magdon-Ismail — both Penn grads who met when they were randomly assigned as roommates — came up with the idea of using your phone to purchase MP3 songs with less friction. A couple of years later, Technical.ly (as it came to be known) was sharing frequent updates on Venmo, including a promising rollout of its new mobile apps.

“Venmo has released new iPhone and Android apps which integrates Foursquare and Facebook locations, stats on usage, a more accessible recent transaction list, and a referral program that offers $1 per friend that signs on,” wrote Technical.ly cofounder Brian James Kirk in a column called Startup Roundup, on Feb. 23, 2011. “Venmo is also mum on reports that Accel Partners recently listed Venmo as one of its portfolio companies. An email to the company was prompted with links to its already reported funders, $1.2 million in seed funding led by RRE Ventures.”

From an office at 2038 Locust, in ritzy Rittenhouse Square, the company kept working on its product until 2011, when it relocated to New York. Venmo would go on to land millions in venture capital funding and ultimately get acquired by BrainTree for $26 million. Once PayPal bought BrainTree a couple of years later, Venmo became PayPal’s sister app of sorts.

Now, don’t write this piece of nostalgia off as the lament of missed opportunities. Think of this more as a salute to the ecosystem that made the formation of Venmo possible. The company was able to raise key seed funding while being based in Philadelphia, and Magdon-Ismail’s last gig before he went full time on Venmo was director of engineering of another well-known Philly-based company: TicketLeap.

Sure, Venmo staying in Philly would have been great. But, through the years, we’ve told the stories of countless other startups that were born in, stayed and thrived in Philadelphia. We also began curating a yearly list of very real companies making local moves. Those looking for a symbol of maturation in the local ecosystem should look no further.

P.S. Wanna celebrate our 10th with us on Tuesday, Feb. 26, and snag a sweet Technical.ly hoodie? RSVP to the party below:

_

For the next bit of Philly tech nostalgia, what’s your favorite Technical.ly story through the years? Tell us here: philly@technical.ly.

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Source: https://technical.ly/philly/2019/02/07/this-month-in-technical-ly-history-venmo-was-a-philly-startup/

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Trump, Sex, and G-Strings: The Juicy Story Behind Newtown Athletic Club

City

The NAC is so much more than a suburban gym.

The pool scene at Newtown Athletic Club. Photography by Christopher Leaman

“How you make a G-string just disappear?”

This question, posed thoughtfully by the rapper Tyga in his song “Dip,” booms through the gym. I keep my eyes trained on the woman in front of me and try to mimic her movements: shimmy, shimmy, thrust, thrust, boob shake, BAM-slap-the-ground; shimmy, shimmy, thrust, thrust, boob shake, BAM-slap-the-ground. I’m not wearing a G-string, but if I were, I doubt I’d be making it disappear, as I’ve been in this Zumba class for 23 minutes and already my booty-shaking has become way less intense. I’m barely standing upright.

I send up a small prayer that this part of the routine will end soon, and, praise be, it does. Only it’s replaced by something far, far worse. To my horror, the attendees of this class — 112 women lined up like oversexed soldiers on an indoor basketball court — split in half and turn to face each other, like a West Side Story dance-off. The two sides begin to shake their way toward one other, then seductively jump back, butts in the air and blowouts bouncing. I’m somehow caught in the middle, always two moves behind and facing the wrong way, a tortoise in a stampede of spray-tanned gazelles.

The instructor, Rosalyn — known to her legions of followers as simply “Ros” — whips her long blond hair in circles. She’s a tiny firecracker, 47 years old, mom of five, in partially see-through black leopard-print leggings and a matching sports bra. She bares her teeth — literally, like a tiger — and every so often lets forth a primal yell. I can’t decide whether she inspires me or scares me.

Welcome, everyone, to the NAC.

For the uninitiated, “NAC” (pronounced “knack”) stands for Newtown Athletic Club, a 250,000-square-foot fitness complex that commands a 25-acre swath of land in Newtown. It’s a hulking, futuristic box of mirrored glass tinted the color of a Caribbean ocean, and it sticks out like a sore thumb on this sleepy stretch of Route 332 known as the Newtown bypass — part of a highway that snakes through much of Bucks County. In front of it stands a towering flagpole that lofts an American flag the approximate size of a Manhattan studio apartment high in the air, as if to say: Hello. We are America. Come join us.

Plenty of people have heeded the NAC’s siren call, paying up to $300 a month for entry into this elite place that fuels an ever-churning rumor mill. Live in these parts and you’ll hear it all: that everyone is sleeping with everyone (sometimes true); that the guy who owns the place is married and also has a girlfriend (true); that swingers flock here (unconfirmed, but likely); that the owner’s son was in prison for biting a guy’s ear off (yep); that the owner played a crucial role in Trump’s presidential victory (debatable, but more true than not); and that he’s planning to build a NAC-ian empire — a school! Apartments! A co-working space! — so that people won’t ever have to venture outside the gym’s campus, like a weird fitness-centric commune (slightly exaggerated but mostly true).

On its surface, the Newtown Athletic Club is a fancy gym. Members will tell you it’s a country club without a golf course. Non-members will tell you it’s a dividing line in town: “You can tell a lot about somebody just by asking what they think of the NAC. You’re either pro-NAC or against it,” says my friend Ashley, who lives in Yardley. (She’s against.) Employees will tell you it’s a “lifestyle center.” And NAC defectors will tell you that it’s basically high school, only with Botox and boob jobs. (“No, it’s worse than that. It’s like Tri Delts and frat houses,” says a current member we’ll call Claire, for her own safety.)

Members will tell you the NAC is a country club without a golf course. Non-members will tell you it’s a dividing line in town. And NAC defectors will tell you that it’s basically high school, only with Botox and boob jobs.

But none of these tells the whole story, because the NAC is more than a suburban gym on steroids. It’s an unlikely nexus of power, politics, money, sex and intrigue, a mini-city where thousands of people — including the area’s wealthiest, prettiest and fittest — go to work out and show off. It’s a social epicenter for a big slice of Bucks County, which flocks here to find a tribe (the Zumba girls, the weight lifters, the spin crowd, the yogis, the networkers, the monied stay-at-home moms, the poolside scenesters). They come here to connect with one another, either over preferred workouts and diets or over a shared love of the flashy side of fitness, where a trip to the gym is akin to a spin on a stage. (Some even bring their own tripods so they can film themselves working out. Don’t you?)

And, of course, the NAC is also the springboard from which Jim Worthington, its brash, bullish owner — the larger-than-life guy who created this larger-than-life scene — makes big waves. You know, stuff like solving the health-care crisis, finding a cure for ALS, electing Trump, and innovating until the NAC is known as the top fitness club in the world.

Back in Ros’s Zumba class, we’re on to the next move, which is just as awful as the last. I scan the room: There’s a cluster of high-school girls who look like Instagram influencers, all reed-thin and glowy. There are the Real Housewives, whose neon sports bras and grape-sized diamonds glow against their tawny skin. To my left is a woman in a very serious-looking knee brace and pearls, and over in the corner, a woman in her 80s is shaking her hips. In front of us, on the other side of a glass wall, are two little girls. They’re watching us, giggling, mimicking our movements: hip sway, booty shake, BAM-smack-the-ground.

A new song comes on, and everyone starts punching the air. Everywhere, butts, boobs, grinding, thrusting, sweating. I feel dizzy. This is terrible. This is the worst thing I have ever done. I never should have agreed to write this story. I should demand a raise. I hate this. I hate this place.

I need to join.

•

One morning last summer, Claire, the member whose real name shall not be known (hint: she’s a 40-something mom), visited the NAC pool. Claire goes to the NAC for its top-notch fitness equipment and instructors, but on this day, she was poolside, making idle chitchat with the nice 50-something woman next to her while stretched out on a lounge chair. (“Three thousand apiece for those chairs,” Jim Worthington says proudly.) Without warning, at precisely noon, the music, which had been low and chill, revved up so loud that you couldn’t hear the person next to you. The woman stood to leave.

“ARE YOU GOING TO STAY FOR THE FREAK SHOW?” she yelled to Claire. “IT’S COMING. I’M GOING TO GO BECAUSE I’VE SEEN IT.”

The infamous pool at the Newtown Athletic Club was Jim Worthington’s first real step in transforming the gym into a capital-L Lifestyle Club. Kevin McHugh, an industry colleague, remembers Worthington’s vision: “He said, ‘I’m not looking for a pool. I’m looking for a place that people are going to talk about.’”

And, oh, they talk.

They talk about the swimwear — the see-through crochet bikinis, the heels, the thongs. (“Maybe she wore it in Europe?” Worthington’s right-hand woman, Linda Mitchell, says tactfully.) “One of my girlfriends owns the bathing-suit store in Newtown. People come in and say to her, ‘Dress me for the NAC pool,’” says Stephanie Edelman, a 38-year-old mom of two so obsessed with fitness that she was working out at the NAC the morning she went into labor.

They talk about what’s happening — or about to happen — in those cabanas. They talk about the crazy Vegas-like parties that take place on weekend nights. (Worry not: The NAC offers on-site babysitting and will even call an Uber for you.) They talk about the drunken arguments at the pool bar: “It can get kind of crazy. You’re out there trying to separate these middle-aged women who are arguing over the same guy,” says Jimmy Worthington, Jim’s oldest son and a manager at the NAC. He was the one involved in the whole ear-biting incident, so he knows crazy. They talk about who’s single, who’s married, who’s having an affair. “It’s an incestuous cesspool,” Claire says.

Jimmy’s equally blunt. “Oh, we should have a reality show,” he says. “No question. We could. And it would be great.”

Like TV shows, the NAC operates in a bubble divorced from reality. It gives low-key suburbia a bit of glitz and flash and a buzzing central artery of action.

Like those shows, the NAC operates in a bubble divorced from reality. It gives low-key suburbia a bit of glitz and flash and a buzzing central artery of action. Sure, you could go here just to work out, but you could also drop your kids off, dance with your girlfriends in a sexed-up Zumba class, grab a kale smoothie, sit in a sauna, get a massage, change into a thong bikini, find a cabana, order a margarita, and pretend you’re in South Beach.

Or not.

“It’s like Vegas, but it’s weird,” says Claire. “Like, do you realize we’re off of a road here, people? We’re not in some beautiful place. Like, this is off the fucking bypass.”

Sure, it’s off the fucking bypass, but soon, if Jim Worthington’s plans go through without a hitch, “off the fucking bypass” will be the center of the universe.

•

On a Sunday morning in late March, Worthington waits in a lounge outside Studio 2, where a group is in the final butt-slapping throes of one of Ros’s Zumba classes. As the women file out, he springs to life, the eager ringleader of this circus.

“You guys want a tour? C’mon, I’ll show ya around and you can see what we’re doing. It’s gonna be the best club, seriously, in the world.” He’s talking about the $10 million-plus three-phase expansion that’s under way. (This expansion is called “Breaking Boundaries.” Each of his major renovations is named; the last one he did, in 2013, was called “The Big Build.”)

Tours seem to be a thing here. The whole complex is speckled with signs inviting members to see the expansion’s progress; I hear rumors of VR goggles. Worthington’s already taken me on a tour, but I follow him on this one, too, along with 19 other folks. He winds the group through the gym to the construction site like Moses leading his people to the Promised Land. Stephanie Edelman is here in her designer workout gear (bought at the NAC!), and so is Kim Levins, Worthington’s 31-year-old girlfriend, a statuesque blonde with faux eyelashes and long pink nails that are filed to sharp points. (Both the lashes and the nails are maintained at the NAC’s salon and spa, Urban Allure.) Levins is an amateur bikini fitness model, and she lives with Worthington in an old Bucks County farmhouse. It’s a normal relationship — lazy evenings spent hanging with their dogs and watching Fox News — except that Worthington is still married to Kathy, his wife of 30 years. They separated eight years ago and don’t live together, but they have an agreement: He pays for her lifestyle (she recently returned from safari in Africa), and they remain married-on-paper. That way, he explains, he doesn’t have to split his assets and decrease his net worth, which would limit his ability to “do big things.”

Newtown Athletic Club owner Jim Worthington. Photography by Christopher Leaman

Jim Worthington is 62 but seems much younger. He’s short, only five-foot-seven, and often in a sleeveless NAC shirt, workout shorts and sneakers. He’s compact, with a wide nose, a perma-tan, and short hair that stands at attention on his head like a soft-bristled brush. His eyes crinkle at the sides when he smiles, and when he talks — which is a lot — he gestures wildly with his hands, which gives him a presence larger than he actually is.

When Jim Worthington talks, people listen. Some of it is because of the way he speaks — quickly, with a thick Philly accent. He starts a thought and then veers off-track, suddenly doubling back to something he mentioned an hour ago: “Did I ever finish that story?” But it’s also because you never know what he’s going to say next. Worthington is unpolished and unfiltered, a mix of unapologetic narcissism, bravado and refreshing frankness. He’s prone to exaggeration. It’s not that he doesn’t know he’s being controversial or how he might come off. It’s just that, well, he doesn’t particularly care.

“Jim kind of reminds me of President Trump,” says Larry Conner, the general manager of a Louisiana health club who sits with Worthington on the board of the International Health, Racquet and Sportsclub Association, the fitness industry’s global trade organization. (Worthington is the chair, a hugely influential position.) “If he speaks according to the teleprompter and all, he’s going to be a polished guy. But I haven’t seen him do that yet. The way he talks and the way he rambles on, the entertaining he does — yes, he might get some PR firms to cringe, but that brings him home to us.”

If the NAC had a PR firm, it would certainly be cringing now, as Worthington has careened off-script during the locker-room portion of the tour. The men’s locker room is the first part of the expansion to be completed, and it’s a glimpse into the future of the NAC, which looks more like a five-star luxury resort than a fitness club. The place is beautiful, all soft glowing light and slabs of creamy porcelain. (“That porcelain? A thousand dollars a sheet.”)

“We could’ve opened this two weeks ago,” he announces to the tour group, spreading his arms wide before launching into a tirade about the building inspector and township officials and the petty political stuff you deal with when you’re a big character trying to realize an even bigger vision. He riles up the group; they’re angry for him. I imagine the gazelles hunting down the building inspector and trampling him to death.

“I’m a big fish in a small pond here,” Worthington said to me when we first met. “I’ve got a bigger footprint outside of here, with the IHRSA chairmanship and the President’s fitness council.” (Worthington’s on the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness & Nutrition, along with Patriots coach Bill Belichick, MLB hall-of-famer Mariano Rivera and Dr. Oz.) “I’m recognized in my industry as one of the top guys, right? But locally, people think of me more as a businessman and entrepreneur, as opposed to somebody who’s doing something unbelievable in a global industry. There are members here who say stuff like, ‘We have the best club in Newtown,’ and you’re looking at them like, no, we’re one of the best clubs in the world. It’s a little disappointing.” Worthington waves it off, but despite his swagger, you can tell it stings.

Before you dismiss his claim as exaggeration, consider this: The NAC, which began as a modest racquetball facility, is now a bona fide mega-gym that pulls in, he says, nearly $19 million in revenue annually. It employs up to 500 staffers and has 12,000 members. But the NAC’s influence goes beyond sheer size.

“If nobody heard of Newtown before, they know it now. It’s a huge name internationally. Everybody in our industry is watching Jim,” says Conner. Yes, you read that right. A global fitness leader. In Newtown. I’ve lived in Bucks County for more than 30 years and driven past the NAC countless times. I’ve watched as weird things were added to the complex, like 2013’s water-park slide whose blue-and-white twists and twirls can be seen from 332 and maybe space. I chalked the slide — and news of four pools, cabanas, an outdoor restaurant, a full-service bar, a lazy river, and crazy weekend parties — to the manic visions of a guy who couldn’t decide whether he was running a gym, a theme park or a Vegas nightclub. But it turns out his visions weren’t manic. They were changing the face of the fitness industry. And, for better or worse, the face of an entire town.

•

Before you can look ahead to where the NAC is headed, you need to understand how it got here at all. It started as a nondescript 11-court racquetball club, founded in 1978 by a bunch of area businessmen — mostly Wall Street guys who wanted to cash in on the growing fitness trend. By 1981, the racquetball fad was starting to cool, giving way to Jane Fonda aerobics, and the Newtown Racquetball Club, as it was then known, was struggling to stay afloat.

Meanwhile, 20 miles away at the Babylon Racquet Club in Horsham, Jim Worthington was the life of the party. He’d just graduated from West Chester with a degree in health and phys ed and was working as a manager at the club. Babylon held round-robin tournaments on Thursday nights, and Worthington, as he tends to do, had whipped the weekly events into a full-blown scene.

“We drew a good crowd — 20, 30 people — and we’d all hang out afterwards,” says Bill Wunder, one of Worthington’s longtime friends. “But Jim drew all of us there. For whatever reason, people follow him; people listen to him, and they feel comfortable around him. He just draws people.”

Worthington’s ability to attract a crowd didn’t go unnoticed. Charlie Minter, one of the original owners of the NAC, and his wife, Dottie, lured him to Newtown in 1981. Within two years, Worthington had converted some of the racquetball courts to aerobics studios, boosted the club’s annual revenue by at least $150,000, and inked himself a deal in which he could buy a quarter-ownership of the NAC with his earnings. (The other partners were mostly silent; Worthington ran the place and used their balance sheets to secure hefty bank loans for expansions. He bought them out last year for $5 million apiece.) By the mid-’90s, Charlie Minter had left, Worthington was a one-third partner, and the Newtown Racquetball Club was the NAC.

The gym progressed steadily after that. Over the next decade or so, Worthington wiped out all of the racquetball courts and added an indoor pool, a gymnasium, and a huge three-story YouthPlex, which offers kids’ fitness classes, a party area (they claim to make a killing hosting birthday parties), and a child-care room, so you can ditch the kids while you make G-strings disappear. In 2011, he tacked on a separate sports training facility and event center; 2013 brought that Vegas-style pool.

You can still see the ceiling beams of the original racquetball courts, and Worthington loves to point these out. He shows them to me as we walk back through the gym from the indoor pool, where he regaled me with his plans for the space. These include a “European spa” with a cold plunge, and a year-round heated pool stretching from the inside to the outside, separated by a giant glass partition you can swim beneath. (“Like, if you’ve gone skiing in Colorado, you see a small pool outside that they keep heated year-round, and you go, Oh my God, that’s really cool. Well, I’m going to do the same thing here.” Pause. “But like five times bigger.”)

“You see the beams?” he asks. “This was court six, this was court five — this was the original club. You can see, it’s not very big.” He pivots on his sneaker, off to show me something else, but I hang back. I study the beams and try to envision what this space was like before all the rumors, Real Housewives and Republicans. Jim Worthington isn’t a subtle guy, and this is the most subtle he’ll ever be in explaining to me just how successful he’s become. Because the beams are more than a blueprint of the old club. They’re a benchmark of how far Jim Worthington’s come.

Samuel James (“Jim”) Worthington Jr., the youngest of three, grew up on a farmette in Prospectville, a postage-stamp hamlet surrounded by Horsham. His dad worked in finance; his mom was a “five-foot-three, 160-pound stump of an Italian woman, strong as a bull.” The household was a raucous, unfiltered carnival, and Jim Worthington ruled it. He was a hell-raiser in school, needling his teachers until they begged him to quit showing up. We’ll give you a C, just please stop coming in and disrupting us. He graduated from Hatboro-Horsham High School ranked somewhere around 300th in a class of 350.

According to childhood friends, Jim Worthington was always the center of the universe. It might have had to do with his size: He grew faster than everybody else, one of the biggest kids in elementary school, the first guy to grow facial hair in junior high. “He was dominating, a super-competitive, aggressive, athletic guy,” says longtime friend Dave Tiller. But then a funny thing happened. As everyone else grew, Worthington stopped. And if he’d been aggressive before, now it was even worse. Now he had something to prove.

“He has a little bit of the Napoleon-complex thing going on,” says Wunder. “His temper — he’s had some issues here and there with scraps.”

“Scraps” is a polite way of putting it. Worthington’s temper is legendary in Newtown. His emotions are exaggerated, a series of violent flare-ups, like water tossed on a grease fire, followed by quick cool-downs. (On the flip side, he’s also a crier. The first time we talked, he welled up five times. Many of his fellow IHRSA board members place bets on when he’ll start crying during a speech.) Unsurprisingly, these volcanic eruptions have gotten him in trouble.

A particularly violent bar fight when he was 25 landed him on probation. (His probation officer had lived across the hall from him at West Chester. “I knew I’d get you eventually,” he said when Worthington showed up for his first check-in.) And in 2001, a fight with an employee earned him a lawsuit. He jumps out of his office chair to show me exactly how it went down — where the guy was sitting, how the guy lunged at him, how Worthington slapped him in the face.

Linda Mitchell, who’s worked with him for 38 years and is the closest thing he has to a PR person, covers her face with her hand and shakes her head. Jim, for the love of God, shut up. But Worthington is even more animated now: “I know how to fight and I know he’s right-handed, so my head’s here, and I know he’s coming at me” — he finishes with a victorious flourish — “and I turn my head and he never hits me.” Linda and I stare at him. Do we clap?

Worthington hired a lawyer who was a longtime member of the NAC. The lawyer advised him against settling for a few thousand dollars; the jury awarded the employee $250,000 in punitive damages (which was eventually negotiated down to around $150,000); a furious Worthington nearly sued the lawyer for malpractice; and, according to Worthington, the law firm ended up paying half the damages.

Worthington still sees the lawyer around. After all, he’s still a member of the NAC.

•

People can’t seem to pin down who, exactly, Jim Worthington is and what, exactly, the NAC means. Worthington has turned the NAC into a mini Mar-a-Lago of superficial wealth and excess, but he’s also used it as a serious platform to drive attention — and millions of dollars — to causes he supports, like getting the PHIT bill passed. (It would allow Americans to allocate funds from health savings accounts to items like gym memberships and youth sports — and would be a boon for health-club operators.) The NAC has donated hundreds of thousands ($500,000 in 2017 alone) to Augie’s Quest, an ALS research foundation, and was instrumental in securing passage last year of the Right to Try bill, which gives terminally ill people access to experimental drugs. His involvement with the bill was spurred by NAC members Matt and Caitlin Bellina, a couple in their mid-30s grappling with Matt’s progressing ALS.

“At some point, I don’t know why, Jim decided he was going to try and save my life,” Matt says from his wheelchair. He can’t walk anymore, but the experimental injections he’s been receiving have helped improve his speech. Caitlin was the woman in front of me at Zumba, hip-thrusting like her life depended on it, or maybe just dancing for the both of them.

It’s sometimes hard to tell whether Worthington is a selfless philanthropist or a spotlight-seeker looking to cement a legacy. He’s far from humble when speaking about his philanthropic work, holding it out like a badge of honor, proof he’s not as bad as some people make him out to be. It makes you question his motives, until you hear about the stuff he doesn’t advertise: according to friends, he has co-signed car loans for employees, given someone a down payment for a house, let a down-on-his-luck friend crash in his guesthouse for a while. Dave Tiller puts it best: “Jim tells me I’m fat while he’s sending me $2,000 to get me out of a jam.”

Another thing people can’t agree on: whether Worthington is a left-brained by-the-numbers businessman or a gut-feeling sort of guy. You could make the argument for either. He lives by to-do lists. He keeps a folder in his desk drawer of every to-do list he’s ever made, dating back to 1981.

The whole Trump thing, though? “That was originally just a lark,” Worthington says. He grew up watching the national conventions on TV with his dad. They looked like big parties, everyone holding up signs. What fun, he thought, to go to one and hold a sign! His dad passed away a few years ago, and Worthington wanted to honor him. A powerful Republican lobbyist who worked out at the NAC told him he could be a delegate for 2016 if he got the 250 signatures required to get on the primary ballot. He needed to campaign.

But when you own a gym that has 3,000 members coming in daily, it’s easy to get signatures. He blasted the competition with robocalls and a firestorm of lawn signs. The whole thing cost him, he says, around $30,000, an unheard-of sum for an unbound-delegate race, but it was worth it. He’d made it to Cleveland, baby!

He cast his vote for Trump and then, with Mitchell’s help, organized a grassroots campaign called People4Trump. It soon got serious: Worthington offered to host Trump at a rally in his sports training center. Thousands of people showed up. (“And another 4,000 outside,” he claims.) And then, well, let Kellyanne Conway explain it, via Worthington:

“I was on the south lawn of the White House at a Congressional picnic, and Kellyanne Conway was there,” he says; his friend, Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick, had invited him to come. Worthington introduced himself to Conway, told her he was from Bucks County, and reminded her that they were the only suburban Congressional district Trump won. “I know,” she said. “I was a pollster. You guys were key to Pennsylvania.” Really? Worthington said. You think that? “Absolutely,” Kellyanne Conway said.

Jim Worthington, center of the universe. And controversy.

“God, since he was a delegate, I can’t even tell you how much shit we went through. Article after article, people quitting. It was so stupid,” says Kim Levins. Especially because — as Worthington insists now — he’s not actually all that conservative. “I’m supposedly this hard-core Republican, but I’m not. Am I a Trump supporter? Absolutely. I think the country is doing better than it ever has.” Then a keen insight: “I have a problem sometimes with his messaging — I think he takes it a hair too far. I’ve been accused of being that kind of guy, who just lets it rip, so I get where he’s coming from. I kind of identify with him.” (As if on cue, an employee walks past us. “Hey,” calls Worthington. And then he lowers his voice: “That’s my only illegal.”)

“People felt that they wanted to go to the NAC for the purposes of training and working out, and they didn’t want politics to be involved,” says John Cordisco, a NAC member and head of the Bucks County Democratic Party. He’s good friends with Worthington; they partnered on a real estate venture. “It’s privately owned, privately run, he’s free to do whatever he so chooses.”

The reaction to the rally was swift, but not as brutal as you might think. Worthington says only 50 or so members quit. And those people are blacklisted. Forever.

“If you challenge my right as an American citizen to do something off the property” — this is semantics; the training center is technically separate from the NAC, as it’s a pay-for-use facility, but it’s next to the larger NAC campus, it’s owned by the same guy, and, well, it says NAC on it — “to advance a cause that I feel strongly about, I don’t want your business.”

Worthington did make one exception, though. As he tells it, a member-services employee found him while he was working out — Worthington works out every single day from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. — to tell him a guy wanted to talk to him. He’d quit the club over the whole Trump thing and wanted back in. No way. The employee came back a few minutes later: “He wants you to know it wasn’t his decision to quit, but his wife’s.” Tell him to grow a set. She came back a third time: “He wants you to know he’s getting divorced.”

Worthington stopped working out and gave the employee a message to relay: “Congratulations. You made the right decision. Welcome back.”

•

Oh, no. No, no, no, no. How did this happen, I think to myself, as the thumping beat of Tyga’s G-string song begins to pound through the studio. How did I end up here — again?

It was actually quite by accident: I’d been sitting in the lounge outside an exercise studio when the Zumba tribe walked by. I recognize some of them now: Stephanie Edelman, Caitlin Bellina, Kim Levins, and finally Ros, with her tiny Chanel bag and blond lion’s mane. “Are you here for Zumba?” asked Levins, excited. I explained, rather desperately, that I was actually just there to use the treadmill. She protested: “But you’re here! You have to try it again, the second time is easier, we’ll save you a spot!” There was nowhere to hide.

From my place in the back, I watch the women in the front row. It’s cutthroat to get up there, I’ve learned. Edelman worked for nine years to earn her coveted spot — first row, dead center. Bellina and Levins are next to her, dancing, laughing, forgetting stuff like ALS and politics and drama, making G-strings disappear.

The after-work Zumba class led by Rosalyn Yellin (center). Photography by Christopher Leaman

Soon, they’ll have a brand-new Zumba room (“’Bout a quarter of a million dollars’ worth of lighting and sound in there,” Worthington says) complete with a DJ booth, a stage, and a balcony overlooking the pool. It’s part of the Breaking Boundaries expansion, which includes a new wing of rooms designed specifically for individual classes. Worthington described it on our group tour as a “fitness mall” — each room has its own unique “storefront” — and it’s his innovative way to compete with today’s trend toward boutique fitness studios like SoulCycle, Orangetheory and Barre3. Along with the Zumba room, the wing includes a yoga studio with a dome ceiling and a spinning studio with a fully immersive Imax-like screen. (“Just the screen alone cost a couple hundred thousand bucks.”)

“You’re on ground zero,” Worthington says grandly, “and I’m not just saying it because I’m me — well, maybe I am — but you’re on ground zero of the next trend in the global fitness industry.”

Jim Worthington’s plans for the NAC are sweeping. (And, if you’re not pro-NAC, potentially scary. Sample: He used his power and influence to help kill plans for a large YMCA complex in town. Unfair competition, he explains.) His NAC preschool is slated to open in January — a natural extension of the gym’s child-care service and youth programming and a possible death knell for other, smaller programs in the area. “It looks like a Disney set!” he says. “Nobody will be able to compete with us.” Also coming: a co-working space, a restaurant, a Starbucks, and physicians to provide concierge medicine to members. And he’s working with Live Nation to create an event center across the street, though this won’t be part of the NAC campus. He’s got plenty of other ideas, too: tennis, climbing walls, ropes courses, zip lines. Linda Mitchell keeps telling him it’s time to put a bar inside.

“It’s not a gym. It’s a lifestyle,” says Bill McAlister, the owner of a successful infomercial company and one of the NAC’s biggest spenders. On top of his membership, he throws down between $3,000 and $4,000 a month here. “On personal training, on season tickets for the Sixers, Phillies and Eagles” — the NAC houses a ticketing agency, too — “my wife and I get our hair cut there, I get a massage every other week, we’ll get dinner there. Pretty much everything that you want, other than sleeping, is there,” he says. “And he’s taking that on in the next two or three years, so … ”

McAlister is referring to Worthington’s idea for NAC apartments across the street. (All residents would get a free gym membership.) He already owns the land — he warehouses property surrounding the NAC so that he can nimbly jump onto his next grand vision — and his architect is working on plans to present to the township. He’s already had one setback, though: The township nixed his plan to link the apartments to the NAC via a pedestrian tunnel. We are in Newtown, after all.

“As we got bigger and bigger over the years, we would laugh and say, ‘It’s like going to the mall.’ Now, it’s like going to a town, a village, all in and of itself,” says Mitchell. She’s a lovely woman, polished and well-spoken — a perfect antidote to Worthington’s rough edges. “When I grew up in the 1950s,” she continues, “we all went to our churches. People don’t do that as much anymore. Although people do still go, and they have those communities, we’ve become a little bit more secularized. The NAC brings all of that together.”

“The church of Jim Worthington,” I joke.

She laughs and buries her head in her hands. “Oh my God!” Then she says it again, more thoughtfully, almost scared, as if this might be something that someday could actually happen:

“Oh my God.”

Published as “This Is a Gym?” in the June 2019 issue of Philadelphia magazine.

Source: https://www.phillymag.com/news/2019/06/08/newtown-athletic-club-nac/

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Eagles open 2019 NFL season as biggest Week 1 favorites

The NFL schedule is here and so are some early betting lines for Week 1 games.

It should come as no surprise to anyone that the Philadelphia Eagles are favored in their home opener against the Washington Redskins. To be more precise, the Eagles are 8-point favorites, according to BetOnline.AG.

Eight is obviously much more than the standard 3-point spread. It’s actually the most any Week 1 team is favored by. The Dallas Cowboys (-7.5) hosting the New York Giants and the New Orleans Saints (-7.5) hosting the Houston Texans are tied for being the second biggets favorites.

The Eagles are 4-0 straight up and against the spread in their last four games against Washington. They’ve won those games by a combined score of 116 to 57, which is an average of 29 to 14.25.

There’s reason to believe the Eagles’ success will continue. Washington has a decently talented roster and their head coach isn’t awful but Case Keenum can be pretty bad. The Eagles know this firsthand from when they blew out Keenum’s Vikings in the 2018 NFC Championship Game.

I envision Carson Wentz coming out strong and making a statement in Week 1. I think the Eagles beat Washington and cover. If I was a betting man, I’d be taking the home team to cover.

Poll

Which bet do you like more?

87%

Eagles -8

(377 votes)

12%

Washington +8

(53 votes)

430 votes total Vote Now

Source: https://www.bleedinggreennation.com/2019/4/17/18412789/nfl-odds-week-1-betting-lines-gambling-picks-against-spread-eagles-redskins-washington-philadelphia

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7-Eleven Is Giving Away Free Slurpees For 7-Eleven Day

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – Today’s date is 7-11, and that means its 7-Eleven Day! The store is celebrating its namesake day with free Slurpees on Thursday.

The deal runs from 11 a.m. until 7 p.m. while supplies last.

7-Eleven expects to give away about nine million Slurpees today.

They will also be offering deals on snacks and other limited-time offers.

Find a store near you, here.

Source: https://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2019/07/11/7-eleven-day-free-slurpee/

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Inside Look: Lushly Landscaped Provincial Pleasure Palace in Lumberville

For Sale/Rent

This custom-built home is a delight for the eyes, with many beautiful spaces inside and out. The rest of you will be just as delighted.

6450 Old Carversville Rd., New Hope, Pa. 18938 | Photos courtesy Addison Wolfe Real Estate

Generally speaking, when one writes a description of a Bucks County house for sale that contains the phrase “New Hope pleasure palace,” the phrase “converted barn” also appears somewhere in it. And if it doesn’t, you will probably find a phrase like “restored 1750 farmhouse” or “once served as George Washington’s [insert function here].”

None of these terms apply to this custom-built provincial pleasure palace on 13 lushly landscaped acres in Lumberville, just upriver from New Hope. This duo of spacious manse and comfortable guest house dates to 1994, but it looks like it’s been here a while thanks to the attention to classic detail you’ll find inside and out.

Living room

While there may be no converted barn on this property, you will find repurposed barn beams in the two-story-high living room, where a stone fireplace with a wood stove serves as the dramatic focal point.

Kitchen

That fireplace shares its chimney with the one in the kitchen. That room also boasts high-end appliances, two islands, custom cabinetry with china cabinets over the sink and a smooth-top cooktop.

Master bedroom

The spiral staircase in the kitchen leads to the master suite. In addition to classic style, it contains another spiral staircase that leads to a turret that affords you a 360-degree view of your property. That same spiral staircase leads down to a finished walkout basement that includes a billiards room, sauna, two bedrooms, workshop and storage space.

Arbor and dining terrace

Rear elevation and deck

The outside of this house for sale is as impressive as its inside. Thoughtful landscaping and inviting features that go beyond the spectacular pool and terrace invite relaxation and make great entertaining spaces to boot.

Third-floor guest suite

And when the entertainment’s done, your guests can repair to the guest suite on the main home’s third floor or to the 1,500-square-foot guest house on the property.

Aerial view of property

In all, this house offers Bucks County living at its finest within shouting distance of the Delaware, just a short drive upriver from New Hope.

THE FINE PRINT

BEDS: 6

BATHS: 6 full, 2 half

SQUARE FEET: 8,584

SALE PRICE: $2,440,000

6450 Old Carversville Rd., New Hope, Pa. 18938 [Evan Walton and Kim Condo | Addison Wolfe Real Estate]

Source: https://www.phillymag.com/property/2018/10/02/house-for-sale-lumberville-provincial/

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76ers Partner With Temple University Ahead of China Trip

76ERS TO PLAY IN SHANGHAI AND SHENZHEN ON OCT. 5 AND OCT. 8, RESPECTIVELY

  TEMPLE UNIVERSITY ALSO PRESENTING PARTNER OF 2019 76ERS CHINESE NEW YEAR CELEBRATION GAME

PHILADELPHIA — SEPT. 24, 2018 — The Philadelphia 76ers announced today that the team has partnered with Temple University ahead of its first-ever trip to China as part of NBA China Games 2018. The 76ers take on the Dallas Mavericks in two preseason games on Friday, Oct. 5 in Shanghai at Mercedes-Benz Arena and again on Monday, Oct. 8 in Shenzhen at Shenzhen Universiade Center. Philadelphia and Dallas will become the 16th and 17th teams to participate in NBA China Games since 2004.

This partnership comes as the 76ers and Temple’s International Affairs Office aim to expand their organizations’ respective footprints in China. For the 76ers, they head to China at a time when basketball’s popularity has skyrocketed as more than 700 million viewers watched NBA basketball on television in China last season. Meanwhile, about 40 percent of Temple University’s international students are from China. Temple seeks to build on its influence in China, after becoming one of the first U.S. universities to enter the country in the late 1970s. Temple is leveraging this partnership with the 76ers for a special pregame reception in Shanghai, designed to develop and strengthen its relationships in China.

“We are honored to partner with Temple University prior to our team’s first-ever trip to China,” said Philadelphia 76ers Senior Vice President of Marketing Partnerships Chad Biggs, who spent three years working in the NBA office in China. “Temple University was a natural fit for the 76ers as both iconic organizations are working to expand their reach across China.”

The partnership tips off today as the 76ers and Temple host a media send-off event at the Philadelphia 76ers Training Complex. The festivities include 76ers players, as well as executives from Temple and the 76ers, engaging the media about the upcoming trip to China for NBA China Games 2018.  

“We are delighted to partner with the Philadelphia 76ers to give them a send-off for their exhibition games in China,” said Temple University President Richard M. Englert. “Exposure to different cultures is critically important to a well-rounded educational experience. Temple offers an environment rich in ethnic and geographic diversity, where our students can learn about the world from their peers in and out of the classroom. We wish the 76ers luck in their travels abroad.”

The 76ers-Temple partnership continues in February when the 76ers host their annual Chinese New Year Celebration Game, which will be presented by Temple University, on Feb. 5, 2019. It will be the second time Temple presents Philadelphia’s Chinese New Year Celebration Game, the first was in February 2016 against the Los Angeles Clippers. 

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Please contact Philadelphia 76ers Communications Coordinator Zack Neiner at ZackNeiner@76ers.com or 215-403-7443.

ABOUT THE PHILADELPHIA 76ERS: 

The Philadelphia 76ers are one of the most storied franchises in the National Basketball Association, having won three World Championships, earning nine trips to The Finals and making 48 playoff appearances over 69 seasons. The Philadelphia 76ers organization is a Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment property.

ABOUT TEMPLE UNIVERSITY:

Temple University, a top-tier public research university, is experiencing incredible momentum that is powered by academic excellence and innovation in college access and affordability. Founded by Russell H. Conwell in 1884, Temple’s official motto—Perseverantia Vincit, or Perseverance Conquers—reflects its community’s drive to make a difference and turn opportunities into accomplishments. Temple is a vital institution in the Philadelphia region and across Pennsylvania, contributing billions toward the commonwealth’s economy each year. Temple’s influence also extends around the globe, with longstanding campuses in Tokyo and Rome; programs in London, Beijing and many other locations; nearly 160 academic cooperations in 48 countries; and more than 332,000 alumni worldwide.

Source: https://www.nba.com/sixers/76ers-partner-temple-university-ahead-china-trip

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Christmas Pop-Up Bar Tinsel Is Back With Even More Glitz

Tinsel, a Christmas-themed pop-up bar in Midtown Village, is back for year two, with over-the-top holiday decorations and Santa-ready cocktails with names like Gingerbread Man and Deck the Halls.

The glittering pop-up is from Teddy Sourias, who owns Bru Craft & Wurst, U-Bahn, Cinder Copper & Lace, Finn McCool’s next door, the seasonal Uptown Beer Garden, and the new Tradesman’s and its underground lair. Last year, Sourias took over the former jewelry store at 116 S. 12th Street with plans to turn it into a permanent venue but, for now, it’s a Christmas bar again.

The space is divided into three small rooms decorated with what looks like all of the Christmas gear available in Philadelphia. But this isn’t all elves and toys: Look for likenesses of Christmas meanies Krampus, the Snow Miser, the Grinch, Oogie Boogie, and Winter Warlock, among others. Presents, bows, ornaments, and icicles hang from the ceiling and the staircase has been turned into the entrance to Santa’s workshop. There’s also a glitzy throne for Santa.

The bar at Tinsel

Society Hill Films

The cocktail list includes drinks like Let it Snow (Jim Beam Double Oak spiced bourbon and maple syrup) and Through the Candy Cane Forest (vodka, peppermint schnapps, and white chocolate liqueur). The beers on draft skew wintery, including Troegs Mad Elf and Sly Fox Christmas Ale.

If you have cash left over after Christmas shopping, splurge on the snow globe drink, which is a vodka-cranberry in a “souvenir” snow globe “with edible snow” for $18. Spend $13 on vodka or rum with cranberry and cinnamon served in a Tinsel-branded soup can and the bar will donate $1 to MANNA.

The whole place is decorated top to bottom

Society Hill Films

Sourias is also offering drink discounts to “professional Santas” — e.g., mall Santas and those working at Christmas Village — so let’s keep our fingers crossed this place fills up with Saint Nicks.

Tinsel opens Thursday, December 6, and runs through January 1. Hours will be Monday and Tuesday from 5-10 p.m., Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from 2 p.m. to midnight, Saturday from noon to midnight, and Sunday from noon to 10 p.m.

Across town, Christmas pop-up bar Miracle has taken over Nick Elmi’s ITV on East Passyunk Avenue, now through December 22.

Does Santa know Teddy Sourias is sitting in his chair?

Society Hill Films

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Source: https://philly.eater.com/2018/12/4/18124613/christmas-bar-restaurant-decorations-philadelphia-tinsel

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Hearing on Tuesday on proposal to demolish part of church near 46th and Spruce and build apartments

June 3, 2019

Good Shepherd Community Church (Photo West Philly Local).

The Garden Court Community Association zoning committee will consider a proposal on Tuesday, June 4 to demolish part of the Good Shepherd Community Church building near 46th and Spruce and build a 32-unit apartment complex.

The property at 314-316 S. 46th St. is zoned RSA-3, which accommodates singe-family dwellings. Developers are also asking for variances for the front setback (eight feet is required and zero is proposed) and parking. Zoning requires 32 spaces and the proposal includes none. 

The city issued a demolition permit for the property in December.

The hearing will begin 6 p.m. at the Spruce Hill Community Center at 257 S. 45th Street.

Source: http://www.westphillylocal.com/2019/06/03/hearing-on-tuesday-on-proposal-to-demolish-part-of-church-near-46th-and-spruce-and-build-apartments/

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WTF Is Natural Wine, Anyway?

Drink

Wine Week’s Sande Friedman on why everyone is obsessed with this new genre of drink.

What is natural wine? Here’s your FAQ guide to the trending beverage. Photograph by Jason Varney

Sande Friedman — the wine buyer for Di Bruno Bros. and a Philly Wine Week board member — shares why everyone is obsessed with this new genre of drink.

The term “natural wine” is everywhere. What exactly is it?

It’s a catch-all term for wines that are made without any chemical or technological interventions — meaning no additives like extra sugar or shelf stabilizers.

How’s that different from conventional wine?

Natural wines are made like they were back in the day, with hand-harvested grapes and natural yeast. Conventional winemakers harvest grapes with giant machines and ferment with purchased yeast. Unlike conventional producers, natural winemakers aren’t purposely adding extra sugar to up alcohol levels and encourage the wine to ferment more quickly.

What does that mean for flavor?

With conventional winemaking, winemakers have a general idea of what they want their cab or merlot to taste like, but in natural winemaking, it’s more about the expression of those specific grapes from the area, climate, maker, soil, etc.

Does less sugar mean less of a hangover?

Generally, it’s less additives that mean less hangovers. But when there’s less added sugar, hangovers aren’t nearly as bad.

Why has this become a big thing in Philly?

We have amazing wine buyers in restaurants and state stores, and even a few in Harrisburg. These people know that natural wines taste better and are more interesting, and they care as much about a wine’s backstory as they do about taste. And as wine importers who care became more prevalent, more people began to seek them out.

Okay, we’re sold. Where do we start?

Come talk to us! Talk to other wine fans, and don’t be afraid to chat with people working in stores. When you find a bottle that you like, turn it around and read the back of the label, so you can find the importer. Because chances are you’ll like other wines from their portfolio, too.

Published as “WTF Is Natural Wine, Anyway?” in the April 2019 issue of Philadelphia magazine.

Source: https://www.phillymag.com/foobooz/2019/03/23/what-is-natural-wine/

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Amazon Says ‘Technical Error’ Reveals Some Customers’ Email Addresses Ahead Of Black Friday, Cyber Monday

Follow CBSPHILLY Facebook  | Twitter

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — Amazon is warning some customers that their email addresses may have been disclosed “due to a technical error” ahead of Black Friday and Cyber Monday. CNET reports that Amazon has fixed the problem.

“We have fixed the issue and informed customers who may have been impacted,” an Amazon spokesperson told CNET in a statement.

Customers who were affected received emails from Amazon about the situation.

“We’re contacting you to let you know that our website inadvertently disclosed your email address due to a technical error,” the customer service email reads. “The issue has been fixed. This is not a result of anything you have done, and there is no need for you to change your password or take any other action.”

CNET reports it’s not yet known how many accounts may have been affected.

Source: https://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2018/11/21/amazon-says-technical-error-reveals-some-customers-email-addresses-ahead-of-black-friday-cyber-monday/

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New Blur, INPHLTRATE, and Doomed Future in Fishtown

New work this week from Philly-based street artists Blur, INPHLTRATE, and Doomed Future at the corner of Berks street and Frankford avenue in Fishown!

See pervious work from Blur here and read our 2018 Streets Dept Oral History Project interview with her here; see pervious work from INPHLTRATE here and read our 2017 interview with her here; and see pervious work from Doomed Future here!

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Source: https://streetsdept.com/2019/06/02/new-blur-inphltrate-and-doomed-future-in-fishtown/

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Malcolm Jenkins says he felt bad after talking smack to Cody Parkey before missed kick

The Cody Parkey revenge game didn’t go all that well for the Chicago Bears kicker. In the waning moments of the contest, Parkey hit the uprights on a game-winning field goal attempt. The Bears lost the game 16-15.

Despite picking up the win, one member of the Philadelphia Eagles felt bad after that kick. Safety Malcolm Jenkins told Eagles coaches he was “talking so bad to Cody” before the kick.

That exchange can be seen at the 6:05 mark in this video:

Around the 4:45 mark, Jenkins can be seen saying “Cody is going to miss that next one” as one Bears players holds him back. It’s unclear if Jenkins said more to Parkey before the kick. If he did, that’s not captured in the video.

The entire video is an enjoyable watch — well, for Eagles fans, at least. There’s also a moment where Golden Tate admits he didn’t know what route to run on the game-winning touchdown catch. Tate may have missed a signal from Foles and had to adjust his route after he saw Foles rolling out during the play.

As for Jenkins and Parkey, there’s apparently no bad blood between the two. Following the game, Jenkins found Parkey, hugged him and told him “love you, man.”

The Eagles will travel to take on the New Orleans Saints in the Divisional Round on Sunday.

Malcolm Jenkins apparently had a few things to say to Cody Parkey. (AP Photo)

More

– – – – – – –

More from Yahoo Sports:

Subscribe to The Yahoo Sports NFL Podcast Apple Podcasts• Stitcher • Google Podcasts

• Cowboys owner spends more for yacht than he did for team • Florida man arrested after late superfan’s family threatened • Driver in hockey tragedy pleads guilty • Cardinals’ hiring move: ‘What is pro football coming to?’

Source: https://sports.yahoo.com/malcolm-jenkins-says-felt-bad-talking-smack-cody-parkey-missed-kick-191841407.html?src=rss

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4 photos of Nick Foles' funky footwear

4 photos of Nick Foles' funky footwear originally appeared on nbcsportsphiladelphia.com

Eagles Twitter took a brief respite from arguing about Carson Wentz and Nick Foles to look at a guy's feet.

Nick Foles' feet.

Or the shoes on his feet if we're being specific.

The Super Bowl MVP and current starting quarterback of your Philadelphia Eagles strolled up to the podium for his Wednesday press conference over at the NovaCare Complex rocking some funky-looking footwear with individual toe spots like on gloves.

If there's anything better than Eagles' beat writers all tweeting the same injury news at the exact same time, it's Eagles' beat writers tweeting about fashion.

Nick was asked about the shoes.

"I was wearing them around the house and I thought I'd wear them to the facility and try it out," Foles said. "My wife thought I was a little crazy. I'm not really worried how I look. They're comfy."

"Fixing my toes. You wear cleats all your life, you know, your toes don't look too good."

Foles will attempt to look good again this Sunday when the Eagles host the Texans in a must-win game to keep their playoff hopes alive. We assume Nick will put his best foot forward and wear cleats for that one.

https://twitter.com/Tim_McManus/status/1075475236102000640

Click here to download the new MyTeams App by NBC Sports! Receive comprehensive coverage of your teams and stream the Flyers, Sixers and Phillies games easily on your device.

More on the Eagles

Source: https://sports.yahoo.com/4-photos-nick-foles-funky-195509785.html?src=rss

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Game Preview | What to Make of an Encouraging Start

Scene Setter:

Essentially a quarter of the way through the 2018-19 season, are the 76ers (14-8) the team they ultimately hope to become?

No, says Brett Brown (and quite resoundingly, for that matter).

But there’s also the unignorable fact that the club is in a relatively good place, given how its 29 peers have so far fared.

As of Wednesday morning, the Sixers owned the sixth-best winning percentage (63.6) in the NBA, while ranking third in the Eastern Conference standings - just one game behind second-place Milwaukee (14-6), and four games back of first-place Toronto (18-4).

How does Brett Brown reconcile this modest, early success with his strong internal conviction that the Sixers have plenty of room for improvement?

“It’s an interesting question,” Brown said Tuesday, before shaking his head, “because I don’t feel that we’re at all at that stage where we sit in the standings.”

Through 22 games, the Sixers are right in the middle of the league pack in respect to the most basic of statistical measurables. Their offensive rating (108.7 points scored per 100 possessions) is 12th overall, and their defensive rating (108.8 points allowed per 100 possessions) 16th.

The team, however, boasts the top assist percentage (65.6) in the NBA, and sits seventh in pace (102.98 possessions per game). True to form from previous seasons, the group is also doing well in a couple of hustle categories (no. 4 7.8 deflections per game, no. 2 6.0 loose balls recovered per game).

Come April 10th, of course, victories will be the only metric that means much, and for now, the Sixers have positioned themselves towards the head of the pack.

Brown cautions there can be danger in assigning too much weight to records too soon.

“I think you can get tricked a little bit if that ends up your comfort zone, if you get greater peace of mind when you see where we are record-wise, and so I don’t go there,” he said. “It’s not like I force myself not to go there, I naturally don’t go there.”

Based on what Brown’s seen, he believes that better execution in general will be unlocked the more opportunities the Sixers have to play together.

From his own standpoint, Brown feels he still needs to get a handle on this year’s edition of the squad, from managing rotations and substitution patterns to making play calls.

Check back in around Christmas, which Brown considers the end of the first third of the season, and he said he might then be inclined to start putting a little more stock in the standings.

“I know what I know, and what I know is it’s early days for this team,” he said. “We have way more to grow and give.”

Opponent Outlook:

The New York Knicks (7-14) will be coming into Wednesday’s game at The Center kind of hot. Prior to suffering a 115-108 loss in Detroit Tuesday, New York had won a season-best three games in a row.

In David Fizdale, the Knicks are on their fourth different head coach in as many years. The team will continue to march on without Kristaps Porzingis (left knee) for the foreseeable future.

Tim Hardaway paces New York in scoring, with 23.0 points per game.

Follow Along:

• Audio: 97.5 FM The Fanatic / Sixers Radio Network

• Video: NBC Sports Philadelphia / NBC Sports MyTeams app

Source: https://www.nba.com/sixers/game-preview-what-make-encouraging-start

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24 Fantastic LGBTQ Events In Philadelphia This Spring

Philadelphia welcomes the warmer weather with a host of exciting LGBTQ events this spring.

Pride dominates: April brings Philadelphia Black Pride; May means New Hope Celebrates’ Pride Festival in Bucks County; and June brings the PrideDay LGBT Parade and Festival, which promises to be bigger than ever for the 50th anniversary of the history-making Stonewall riots that launched the gay civil rights movement.

Also marking the half-century milestone: a performance by the Philadelphia Gay Men’s Chorus and the multimedia exhibition Civil Disobedience: Celebrating Queer Resilience at International House Philadelphia.

The rest of the season is peppered with an eclectic range of live performances by LGBTQ icons Betty Who, Eddie Izzard and Patti LuPone.

Here’s a look at what to expect from Philadelphia’s LGBTQ scene in spring 2019.

Source: https://www.uwishunu.com/2019/03/cant-miss-lgbtq-events-in-philly-this-spring/

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6 Things We Wish for Philly’s Dining Scene in 2019

Food & Drink

What the Philly Mag food team is hoping to see in Philadelphia's restaurant scene in the new year.

Devoted foodies and restaurant newbies love Foobooz. Sign up now for our twice weekly newsletter.

Vault & Vine takes care of their plants, and you should, too. | Vault & Vine Facebook

With 2018 nearly behind us, the Foobooz team sat down and came up with a list of things we’d like to see way more of in 2019. Let’s call it a last-minute wish list.

Better restaurant names

Philly has some of the most creative restaurant minds in the country, except for when it comes to naming their restaurants. Either chefs and restaurateurs are taking themselves too seriously (no more last names, please), or they’re branding their concepts too literally (you don’t have to spell it out for us — half the fun is figuring it out your thing for ourselves). Why not have fun with it? Let’s get weird. New York has Ugly Baby, Portland has Drifters Wife, Detroit has Lady of the House — those names all pique your curiosity, don’t they? And they don’t give anything away, either. — Alex Tewfik

Greener greenery

Adding some greenery can improve the atmosphere of just about any dining establishment. While there are lots of places in Philly who make sure to keep their ornamental plants looking healthy and beautiful, many restaurants need to take better care of their plants in 2019. Pick varieties like pothos, ZZ plant, and snake plant that are nearly impossible to kill, rather than trendy succulents or finicky fiddle-leaf figs. No matter how good they look on the ‘gram now, they’ll soon be sad and shriveled without the proper care and conditions. If you must decorate your space with the trendy plant of the moment, make sure you’ve got a green-thumbed staffer to take care of it properly — or bring in the professionals to keep things looking lush and green. — Alexandra Jones

Our very own fad

Please, for the love of god, stop filling your damn menus with lazy versions of last year’s cool. This means no more shishitos, no more fine-dining donuts, way less crudo. Get out there and invent something new. Do the thing that everyone else in the country is going to be copying next year. You’ve got the talent. All you’ve got to do is let it shine. — Jason Sheehan

Exposed bad behavior

While #MeToo first hit the restaurant world in a big way with allegations of sexual harassment by New Orleans chef John Besh in the fall of 2017, 2018 was the year that the industry as a whole started to grapple with the sexism, homophobia, and physical and sexual abuse that’s been accepted, even celebrated, in restaurant culture for decades. Big-name chefs and restaurateurs in New York, San Francisco, Houston, and Washington — and Philadelphia — were exposed for their harmful and illegal behavior. Most faced professional and financial consequences.

Despite the attention that’s been paid to this, anyone who’s spent even a little time in or around restaurants knows that this behavior will continue to be widespread for the foreseeable future. I’m wishing for more #MeToo stories to come to light in 2019 to strip the industry’s abusers and enablers of their power over employees’ lives and livelihoods. — Alexandra Jones

No more Italian

Classic, South Philly, modern, rustic, authentic — I don’t care. No more. We don’t need it.

Listen, I get it. I get why it keeps happening. Italian cuisine is versatile. Every chef loves cooking Italian (seasonal, hand-made, simple ingredients and techniques). And Philly diners have a palate for Italian, so opening the business is less of a risk. But the market is too saturated. All your homemade pastas are starting to taste the same. Let’s pull back a bit, and focus our efforts on diversifying the scene a little more. This town could use more of, quite literally, any other cuisine. — Alex Tewfik

Specialists

If you’ve got something that you do better than anyone else (chicharron, scallion pancakes, barbecue, donuts, whatever), do that thing and then figure out a way to get it into people’s hands quickly, easily and cheaply. Not that one thing PLUS appetizers. Not the thing plus tablecloths and wine. Just the thing, got me? Pizza Gutt, Goldie, Redcrest, Mike’s BBQ — all places that have made this work. And I’d love to see a hundred more concepts like this in Philly — a total revolution in the way restaurants operate. Because we’re due one, I think. And maybe this will be the year. — Jason Sheehan

Source: https://www.phillymag.com/foobooz/2018/12/24/dining-wish-list-2019/