Who is playing the Bird Box game?

Hello, Philadelphia. It’s another sunny day with a high near 80 degrees.

Football is back on and our Eagles will kick off the 2024-25 season with a home game in São Paulo, Brazil, this Friday night. In addition to plenty of preview coverage, The Inquirer sports team has a fun new game called Bird Box to test your knowledge of past and present players.

Mayor Cherelle L. Parker says her summer cleanup program was a success, but now comes the hard part. Here’s what you need to know today.

—Julie Zeglen ([email protected])

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Grab your face paint and tailgate tents. The Birds are back.

As the Philadelphia Eagles prepare to take on the Green Bay Packers in their season opener, The Inquirer’s sportswriters set out to answer a few questions: Will the team be stronger after its collapse in the 2023-24 season? Did Nick Sirianni deserve another chance? Can Jalen Hurts be among the elite again? Could Jason Kelce become a coach? Will outsiders ever stop mocking us?

Time will tell. Here’s what you need to know ahead of the first match.

Game on: Play our new weekly game, Bird Box, by filling in the grid with names of athletes from the past 50 seasons based on clues (e.g., “Joined after 2000” or “Played 100+ career games”). Think of this as Sudoku for Eagles players.

In the field: Need a refresher on who’s actually on the team this year? We look at all 53 Eagles players on the roster, from new faces to proven stars. Plus, check out our game-by-game predictions for the entire season.

Start time: For fans of the Brazilian Birds, Friday’s game at the Corinthians Arena — the first NFL game in South America — “will be their Super Bowl.”

Get up to date: The Inquirer’s sportswriters and columnists have plenty more analysis of the Eagles’ season ahead.

The Parker administration’s inaugural summer cleanup program has officially concluded, with 18,000 blocks swept and scrubbed in 13 weeks. But its promise of cleanliness and environmental conservation remains in place. What’s next?

Starting this fallThe block-by-block program will be repeated twice a year, with new quality-of-life teams being sent to all 10 Philadelphia council districts to conduct regular cleanups. The administration will also announce a twice-weekly trash collection pilot program later in the year.

The mayor declared success During a news conference on Wednesday, he acknowledged that daily maintenance is up to residents.

Meanwhile, critics say The block-by-block program is more show than substance: “To clean something up once and then think it will stay clean after that is just absurd,” the city’s former garbage director told The Inquirer.

City Hall reporter Anna Orso has the story.

PS Also on Wednesday, Parker said keeping the Sixers in Philadelphia “is a priority” for her, but continued to avoid taking a firm position on whether the team should build a stadium downtown.

What you should know today

Trivia time

In a pre-dawn robbery Wednesday, a group of thieves stole three large pallets containing $42,000 worth of perishable goods from a tractor-trailer in South Philadelphia, the latest in a series of cargo thefts. What did they steal?

A) Mexican avocados

B) Crab meat

C) Lobster tails

D) Water ice

Do you think you know? Check your answer.

What we are…

Audience: The story behind artist Jesse Krimes’ Rikers Quilt.

Recycling: Free Refrigerators, Window Units and More Appliances in New Jersey.

Buy: Affordable starter homes in these Philadelphia-area counties.

Decipher the anagram

Collegeville native and recent Bachelor Star Joey Graziadei joins this reality show.

Most Chaste Writing

Email us if you know the answer. We’ll select a reader at random to mention here. Cheers to Patricia Taylor Todd, who solved Wednesday’s anagram: Ketanji Brown JacksonThe Supreme Court justice is promoting her new memoir, Lovelywith a stop in Philadelphia on September 28.

Photo of the day

Have a great Thursday. I’ll be back in your inbox tomorrow.

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