PHILADELPHIA (AP) — And the Emmy goes to ... Philadelphia Phillies shortstop Trea Turner?
Turner already won an NL batting title and a World Series championship ring in his 11-year MLB career.
How about adding an Emmy Award to that trophy case?
“Trea Turner’s an Emmy winner, absolutely,” sports documentary producer Kyle Thrash said. “He definitely held it up like he owned it.”
Turner may not actually have the award in hand to keep for good, but he got to hoist the real deal ahead of Friday's game against Toronto in a short celebration for the Emmy won for a best sports short documentary produced on the 2023 standing ovation credited with turning around his season.
“The Turnaround” won a sports Emmy in May and Thrash and Phillies fan Jon McCann — whose personal struggles with mental health and kinship with Turner were the heart of the film — attended the game to show off their new bling to Turner.
“Cuz, we did it, huh?! “McCann said as he shook Turner's hand on the field after batting practice. ”Trea Turner, we share an Emmy together.”
Turner read the inscription at the bottom of the Emmy and promised the fans he would wave to them in section 301 if he stole a base in Friday's game.
“We get to bring a trophy back to the ballpark tonight and share it with so many people that were involved in the standing ovation. It's pretty incredible,” Thrash said.
Philly sports fans — often billed as some of the worst in sports — gave a slumping Turner standing ovations in at-bats throughout the weekend in an August 2023 series to show he had their full support.
Turner was in the first season of an 11-year, $300 million deal with the Phillies but was batting just .238 with 11 home runs and 39 RBIs. He was even dropped to eighth in the batting order headed into that series against Kansas City.
In three games over the weekend against the Royals, Turner went 4 for 12 with two doubles, a home run and five RBIs and he would eventually help lead the Phillies to the playoffs.
Turner later helped pay for “Thank You, Philly" digital billboards in the greater Philadelphia area.
The documentary was produced by Higher Ground, the media company founded by former President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama
McCann, also known as “The Philly Captain," is a Philadelphia based YouTuber and was one of the fans — along with a Philly sports talk radio host — credited with rallying the fans to get behind Turner.
“During the ceremony, one of the award presenters said, ‘When you go up against the Olympics, you lose.’ So I kind of thought we already lost,” McCann said. “We didn't. It was a great, great shock.”
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Philadelphia Phillies' Trea Turner (7) singles off Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Chase Shugart, driving in two runs during the fourth inning of a baseball game in Pittsburgh, Friday, June 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
Philadelphia Phillies shortstop Trea Turner, left, poses with Phillies fan Jon McCann, center, and documentary producer Kyle Thrash with a sports Emmy won for best sports documentary "The Turnaround", the story how McCann inspired a city-wide movement to cheer for instead of boo for Turner, before a baseball game against the Toronto Blue, Jays, Friday, June 13 , 2025, in Philadelphia (AP Photo/Dan Gelston)
FILE 0 Philadelphia Phillies' Trea Turner acknowledges the crowd after hitting a three-run home run during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Kansas City Royals, Saturday, Aug. 5, 2023, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum, File)
This is not exactly what the NFL and Netflix had in mind when they thought they would be getting big-name quarterbacks Jayden Daniels vs. Dak Prescott and a high-stakes matchup of NFC East rivals Washington Commanders and Dallas Cowboys in the Christmas Day spotlight.
As things stand now, it is hard to imagine many folks eagerly anticipating a meeting Thursday between bad teams that will miss the playoffs — and with Daniels, who has been shut down for the season after a series of injuries limited him to just seven appearances, doing no more than appearing on the sideline in street clothes.
“When you do circle those matchups, that’s exactly what you’re thinking: This is going to be cool. How it’s all laid out — division games right here at the end between two games of Philadelphia with a Dallas game in between,” said Washington coach Dan Quinn, whose team dropped to 4-11 by losing to the Eagles last Saturday and will close against that same club in Week 18.
“Playing these division games, they still mean a lot. They mean a lot to the players, the coaches and the fans,” Quinn said, perhaps trying to persuade himself and his locker room as much as anyone. “And so that part is still good, but not to the level that you wanted it to be.”
Or anyone would, really.
As Quinn put it: “You never want a season like this.”
The Cowboys haven't been as terrible as the Commanders, who have dropped nine of their past 10 games and were eliminated weeks ago. But a 6-8-1 record under first-year coach Brian Schottenheimer after trading elite pass rusher Micah Parsons to Green Bay means Dallas is out of the postseason for the second year in a row.
Owner Jerry Jones called that outcome “disappointing.”
“We all underachieved, really,” Jones said.
The Cowboys have a 4,000-yard passer, a 1,000-yard rusher and two 1,000-yard receivers in the same season for the second time in franchise history. The other was in 2019, when Dallas also missed the playoffs.
Prescott just secured his fourth 4,000-yard season, which ties Tony Romo’s club record. Javonte Williams has the first 1,000-yard season of his five-year career in his Dallas debut after an injury-plagued stint in Denver. CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens have been a dynamic pairing all season. Pickens has a shot at 1,500 yards receiving in his first 1,000-yard season following the trade that brought him from Pittsburgh. Lamb will fall short of his All-Pro total of 1,749 yards two years ago, but has been mostly productive despite a sprained ankle that essentially cost him four games.
Six years ago, Dallas finished 8-8 despite great stats for Prescott (career-high 4,902 yards passing), Ezekiel Elliott (1,357 yards rushing) and Amari Cooper and Michael Gallup (each over 1,100 yards receiving).
The Cowboys moved left guard Tyler Smith to left tackle last week with backup Nate Thomas struggling as the fill-in for the injured Tyler Guyton. Schottenheimer said Smith would protect Prescott’s blind side the rest of the season.
Smith played left tackle as a rookie in 2022, when perennial Pro Bowler Tyron Smith was injured in training camp and missed most of the season. The Cowboys thought Tyler Smith could be more impactful at guard, but his talent might force a permanent move to the most important spot on the line.
“I’m gonna do what’s best for the team,” Tyler Smith said. “I’m a smart player. I understand who I am, where I am and, ultimately, what I’m getting paid to do.”
Both of these teams have been among the worst at stopping opponents all season, and the men who started 2025 as defensive coordinators — Matt Eberflus for Dallas, and Joe Whitt Jr. for Washington — could be looking for new jobs soon. Eberflus moved from the sideline up to the coaches' box last weekend, with no signs of that making a difference. Whitt shifted the opposite way, from the box to the sideline, in Week 10, then was stripped of play-calling duties by Quinn, who took over that responsibility in Week 11.
AP Pro Football Writer Schuyler Dixon in Frisco, Texas, contributed to this report.
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Dallas Cowboys wide receiver George Pickens (3) makes a touchdown catch past Los Angeles Chargers cornerback Cam Hart (20) during the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Dec. 21, 2025, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott (4) prepares to pass during the first half of an NFL football game against the Los Angeles Chargers, Sunday, Dec. 21, 2025, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Injured Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels looks on before an NFL football game against the Philadelphia Eagles, Saturday, Dec. 20, 2025, in Landover, Md. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)
