Philly Today: The Latest on Philly Water, Questlove Remakes Disney, and J.T. Realmuto Gets Tossed for … This?

Questlove at the 95th Annual Academy Awards on March 12, 2023 in Hollywood, California. / Photograph by Emma McIntyre/Getty Images

Questlove Does … Disney?

Deadline announced that Questlove will direct his first feature film (his Oscar-winning Summer of Soul was a documentary) — a live-action/ hybrid version of Disney’s The Aristocats. What’s that old saying about herding felines? 

Water World

The city announced early this morning that based on the Philadelphia Water Department’s overnight sampling and something called “hydraulic modeling” it is confident that the city’s water supply is safe to drink and use through at least 11:59 p.m. Wednesday.

It reports that contaminants from the chemical spill in Bristol Township have not, to this point, been found in the city’s water system at any point. The city advises that residents can fill reserve bottles and pitchers with tap water at no risk and notes that the water that is available “has been treated and tested to confirm that it is safe to drink and use for bathing, cooking, and washing.”

The Water Department says it expects the issue to be fully resolved by next week.

That’s Just Twisted

Bakers at the Philly Pretzel Factory in Langhorne re-created Leonar-dough da Vinci’s Last Supper in flour and water and salt. Label us impressed! And in more Very Important Food News, reports say the Phillies and Turkey Hill are bringing back Graham Slam ice cream, just in time for the season to begin again.

Women in Sports I

Big East Player of the Year, Naismith Trophy finalist and first-team All American Villanova hoops star Maddy Siegrist is forgoing her final year of courtesy-of-COVID eligibility and entering the WNBA draft.

Women in Sports II

And speaking of Villanova women and sports, Wildcat alum Christine Dorfler is the NFL’s new chief financial officer. (She’s also a grad of Drexel.)

By the Numbers:

+32: Increase in the number of child shootings in Philly per 100,000 population from pre-pandemic times to during the pandemic, according to a new JAMA study. Fatal and non-fatal shootings jumped from a rate of 30 per 100,000 from January 1, 2015, through March 14, 2020, to 62 per 100,000 from March 15, 2020, to December 31, 2021.

500: Number of people the city’s Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy is hoping show up today at Love Park at noon to make “jazz hands” to celebrate the start of Jazz Appreciation Month 2023.

3: Folks with Philly ties appointed yesterday by President Biden to his Council on Sports, Fitness, & Nutrition: restaurateurs Jose Garces and Michael Solomonov, and former Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard. It’s four if you count Philly-adjacent Martin Inglesby, head coach of the University of Delaware men’s basketball team.

And from the You-Can’t-Win Sports Desk …

The announcement that Joel Embiid would miss last night’s game vs. the Nuggets and Nikola Jokic (who, of course, was the NBA’s MVP for the past two years) because of his pesky “calf tightness” set off a social media firestorm. Was our Joel intimidated? Pshaw, what he said:

Everyone claims that “Embiid is too focused on the MVP”, yet they clown him for sitting out😂😂. Which one is it???? If he’s sitting out tonight, then wouldn’t that mean he’s not too focused on the MVP???🤷🏼‍♂️ pic.twitter.com/q1HsxtGSQA

— Aidan LaPorta (@AidanLaPorta69) March 27, 2023

All we ask is a little consistency, dammit. On the plus side, reports were that Harden and House would both be back. But at game time, the starters were Maxey, Melton, Harris, Tucker and Dedmon. Wait, where was James? Were we just tossing in the towel? It looked that way at the close of the first quarter: 25-18 Nuggets. You know what the worst part of legalized sports gambling is? Guys on Twitter bitching about their busted bets. In the second, with the help of Maxey and Harris, the Sixers would get it close, then slip behind, get it close, then slip behind, like an accordion. (We do not like accordions.) At the half: 61-57 Denver. Maxey had 25 points, a halfway record for him.

In the third, a 10-2 run by the Nuggets put them up by 10 again, 71-61. Kate and Alaa were boostering, but the prospects looked dim; in an eye-blink, the lead was 83-61. The Sixers put on some brakes, and by the end of the third, it was 91-77. Jokic had a triple-double. Our bench guys teased by coming within six in the fourth with under two minutes left, in a show of bravado, then twice cutting it to five, then to three with 27 seconds left. Damn, such a noble effort. Final:116-111. Too bad.

The Phils took an early lead yesterday afternoon against the Blue Jays and held onto it for a 5-2 win. Guess what player whose initials are T.T. hit a two-run homer? Catcher J.T. Realmuto was incredulous that he got tossed out of the game for this:

Homeplate umpire Randy Rosenberg ejects JT Realmuto for this 🤨 pic.twitter.com/dkQtpU1bHt

— Tim and Friends (@timandfriends) March 27, 2023

Don’t you hate it when the ump can’t take a joke? The Phillies face the Jays again today at 12:05.

Ricardo Pepi’s goal 15 minutes into the second half and two minutes after he came in off the bench put the U.S. Men’s National Team up 1-0 in their match against El Salvador in CONCACAF play last night, and that’s right where it stayed. On to the semifinals!

62' – GOAL: USA!!!! @Ricardo_Pepi9's second touch of the match is a lovely chip to put as ahead!!!!

🇺🇸 USA 1 – 0 SLV 🇸🇻 pic.twitter.com/mBTXMQFVbA

— U.S. Soccer Men's National Team (@USMNT) March 28, 2023

The Flyers play tonight.