Sports & Entertainment
By Pete Thompson
I thought the above headline fits best for this column as the Sixers are both the “talk of the town” right now as well as the one Philly team that is trending upward these days. My radio colleague Billy Schweim called the Sixers “the SAVIOR of Philadelphia sports,” and it’d be hard to argue with him, right?
Since I last wrote, the Sixers finally traded Ben Simmons and they ended up with one of the NBA’s 75th greatest players in return, James Harden. But did they give up too much? The Flyers are in another tailspin and the biggest question around them right now is where their captain might be traded. The Super Bowl was a good one (I thought), and now the talk turns to who the Eagles might draft and their strategy moving forward. Meanwhile, their former coach officially gets into Canton. The Phillies normally would’ve been “knee-deep” in spring training, but baseball’s labor dispute continues. On the local front, it’s time for the CAL basketball championships, high school wrestling at Boardwalk Hall, and major college hoops there as well. I’m also honored to be the MC for a huge local football event at Bally’s on March 25th that I encourage you to come to check out. Lastly, I enjoyed turning on the TV the other day and seeing one of our own, Kylee Watkins, playing for a big-time women’s college basketball program on national TV.
From entertainment, my girlfriend and I enjoyed an Amazon Prime series based on a character from some very popular books. Plus, speaking of books, I read one recently that I’ll recommend if you’ve ever watched a single episode of the show “60 Minutes”. As always though, we begin with sports, and my thoughts:
I simply MUST start with the Sixers as right before the NBA trade deadline, they finally pulled the trigger on a trade with Brooklyn that essentially sent Ben Simmons to the Nets and got back James Harden in return.
The Sixers were also forced to give up Seth Curry, Andre Drummond, and two future first-round picks (with considerations), but they also got back Paul Millsap. In the immediate aftermath of the trade, it was funny to see some folks who were concerned that the Sixers gave up “too much”. To me, it boils down to this, you replaced a guy who didn’t want to be here or play here for one of the NBA’s 75th greatest players of ALL-TIME. Boom. Done. ‘Nuff said.
Well, maybe I’ll write a LITTLE more as Joel Embiid is having an MVP season this year, and now that he’s paired with “The Beard”, folks are all eager to see how that works out. Harden is rehabbing a hamstring injury still as I write this, but should make his Sixers debut soon. To me, he’s already paying dividends, as in a big win at Milwaukee right before the all-star break, Harden was in street clothes, on the bench, supporting his teammates.
Allow me to expand on that a little, as it was Harden who got in Tyrese Maxey’s ear and encouraged him to be “more aggressive”. Maxey went out and dominated the 2nd quarter of what turned into a 123-120 Sixers win over the defending NBA champs. Maybe that’s what I’m most excited about. The Sixers got rid of Simmons, acquired James Harden, and didn’t have to give up either Maxey or Matisse Thybulle. Um, Daryl Morey for NBA Executive of the Year…?
One more Sixer note as I happened to look up and see Julius Erving, Billy Cunningham & Charles Barkley on the TNT coverage of the NBA All-Star Game from Cleveland. As I research and write this, I’m surprised (and pleased) to learn that the Sixers tied the Knicks with the most players named to the 75th-anniversary team. I already mentioned, Dr. J, The Kangaroo Kid & The Chuckster. Allen Iverson was also there, and James Harden who did not play. That’s five. And the list gets more impressive. Hall of Famers Wilt Chamberlain, Hall Greer, Moses Malone, and Dolph Schayes was also on the team.
Think about that for a moment. If you said to someone “which NBA team has the most players on the 75th Anniversary Team?” you’d figure that they would mention Boston or the Lakers. But the answer is two-fold as the New York Knicks and Philadelphia 76ers hold the record at NINE players each. A cool trivia question!
To hockey now, whereas I write this, the Flyers are fresh off another loss. Their 18th loss in the last 20 games. This comes as they are in the middle of a club-record eight-game home-stand. I’ve been to the Wells Fargo Center recently and I’m am both saddened and a little shocked at how LOW the attendance is. I saw them play Detroit on February 9th and I’d put the crowd at no more than 6,000 on a Wednesday night. I’m headed up to see them play the Blues tonight (February 22), and am curious to see how many others will be there.
The biggest story around the Flyers is what’s going to happen with team captain Claude Giroux. He shined at the NHL All-Star Game, winning MVP honors as the Metro won the event. Now, with the NHL trade deadline less than a month away, speculation increases as to where “G” will go next. It’s all but certain that he is going to waive his “no-trade” clause to go play for a contender and have a chance to win a Stanley Cup. The Flyers, meanwhile, hope to move him while they can still get an asset in return.
A report came out recently that Giroux had told his agents to tell the Flyers that he’d be willing to waive that “no trade” clause to end up in Colorado, Minnesota, or St. Louis. Of course, it’s not that easy. My radio colleague Kevin Durso from 97.3 ESPN thinks that the Flyers won’t do anything until Giroux plays his 1,000th career game with Philadelphia. If everything stays status quo, Giroux would play that 1,000th career game at home against Nashville on St. Patty’s Day on March 17th. He could get the accolades and then move on to try and win a Cup with someone else.
In football, I enjoyed Super Bowl LVI as the Rams just edged out the Bengals 23-20 at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles. I have to admit, I was pulling for Cincy, but it was a good game that went down to the wire, so I’m not sure you can ask for much more!
A quick note though, did you happen to see the Rams and their Super Bowl “parade” in Los Angeles? Just another reason I love Philly sports, as I heard that organizers were begging folks to please come out and line the short parade route in the City of Angels. Now, to be fair, if that was the Lakers or Dodgers, I think the crowd would’ve been bigger, but still.
For the Eagles, the focus (and sports radio talk) now turns to what they will do with their three first-round draft picks. The new NFL league year begins on March 16th, so don’t expect anything to happen before then. But we sure can have discussions and debate about it, can’t we?
One final football note as I have to say a HUGE congratulations to former Eagles coach Dick Vermeil, who was officially elected to the NFL Hall of Fame on Super Bowl weekend. The 85-year-old still lives in suburban Philadelphia but was born & raised a California boy, so that had to be special for him to be a newly minted Hall of Fame coach while enjoying the Rams win. I’ve met Coach Vermeil a few times and what they say is true. It’s hard to find anyone nicer!
That leaves me with the Phillies as normally by now, pitchers & catchers would all be in Clearwater. A gigantic roster would start to be whittled down to a big-league team. None of that is happening because of the Major League Baseball labor dispute. First, MLB announced that all spring training activities have been pushed back to at least March 5th. That may get pushed back again. Then, after five hours in a boardroom in Jupiter, Florida on Monday, February 21st, the two sides came out seemingly just as far apart as when they went in.
Keep in mind that Opening Day is scheduled for March 31st, so this is a critical week for negotiations between the two sides. What are they fighting about? Well, to put it simply, the two things most people fight about….money & control. The players want more money pre-arbitration, the league wants more control over the control of how many minor league baseball jobs there are. There are a bunch of other issues too, but those are the top two right now.
I’ll just say this. The NFL is as popular as ever. The NBA continues to be strong both domestically and internationally. I don’t ever see a day where the NHL would move to the 3rd spot, but does baseball want to ALIENATE more fans in an already shrinking fan base? I’m just one guy, but I’m thinking they need to get this sorted out, and SOON.
In local sports, I have a bunch to write about this column, as I’ll start with the Cape Atlantic League basketball. The CAL boys & girls tournaments are going on right now, and I’m thrilled to see them return to full capacity and “normal”. Best of luck to all the teams there.
High school wrestling is also taking place, as the big state wrestling championships are set at Boardwalk Hall from March 3rd to the 5th. I can’t wait for that.
Just like I’m excited to see the 2002 MAAC Basketball Tournament come back to Boardwalk Hall from March 8th through the 12th. This is the 3rd year of the MAAC coming to Atlantic City, and they haven’t gotten a fair shake because of the pandemic. I know I’m excited to see college basketball right in my backyard. In just his second year there, Rick Pitino has made Iona a major player in men’s college hoops. Look for me at Boardwalk Hall March 8th through the 12th for sure.
I also know where I will be on Friday, March 25th, as I’m honored to be the MC for the Atlantic County Junior Football League’s 65th Anniversary event at Bally’s AC. I’m the MC, the legendary Ron Jaworski is the keynote speaker, and several current and former NFL personalities who have ties to the Atlantic County league are expected to be in attendance as well. Baltimore Ravens offensive coordinator Greg Roman will be there. Current Green Bay Packers defensive lineman Abdullah Anderson is expected to be on hand. Former Jets GM Terry Bradway should be there, along with former players like Dino Hall, Joe Callahan, Dave Klemic, John Stone, and Wayne Coleman. The event begins at 6 p.m. on Friday, March 25th. For more information, go to www.acjflcelebration.com Proceeds will benefit local junior football programs with an emphasis on training and equipment to improve player safety. Former cheerleaders and team “moms” are coming back too. Hope to see a bunch of you there…!
My last local sports item is about Kylee Watson. What a treat it was to turn on my TV the other day and see Watson playing for Oregon against Stanford on ESPN2. Watson is a 6-4 sophomore with the Ducks, who are starting to get more minutes as she gains maturity. Sadly, her Ducks really could’ve and maybe SHOULD’VE won the game against Stanford, losing 66-62. Watson finished with just 4 points and two rebounds in 15 minutes of play, but it was nice to see her get extended time because Nyara Sabally was in foul trouble. Go, Kylee! We are all rooting for you!
As always, I’ll close with a few items from entertainment, starting with the new Amazon Prime series “Reacher”. Based on the popular crime thriller novels by Lee Child, this version of Reacher is one that I fully endorse. Hey, I’m a huge Tom Cruise fan, and the two movies he made in 2012 and 2016 were excellent popcorn movies. But Tom Cruise is 5-7, and in the books, Jack Reacher is described as blonde and 6-5. Which makes the casting of Alan Ritchson so perfect. Ritchson is a former Abercrombie & Fitch model who is 6-4 and ripped. The Amazon Prime series “Reacher” is based on the very first book “Killing Floor” which was released in 1997, so even I had a hard time remembering the details. Which made the series all the more entertaining! I recommend you check it out.
Regular readers here know that I consider BOOKS to be a form of entertainment, and I enjoyed reading “Ticking Clock: Behind the Scenes at 60 Minutes” by Ira Rosen. The Google Review describes it as “Two-time Peabody Award-winning writer and producer Ira Rosen reveals the intimate, untold stories of his decades at America’s most iconic news show. It’s a 60 Minutes story on 60 Minutes itself.” I couldn’t agree more. It was a fascinating read and I highly recommend this as well.
I’m going to “tweak” my closing here because I saw that Queen Elizabeth recently tested positive for Covid-19. Folks, we are SO close to things starting to ease up. With that in mind, I certainly hope you all stay safe & healthy. No matter where you are if a mask is required, it’s for a reason. Please keep leading with kindness.
Pete has been the local “sports guy” at the Jersey Shore since 2004. After a decade with TV 40, he joined 97.3 ESPN radio to talk Eagles, Phillies, Sixers & Flyers with Mike Gill on “The SportsBash” from 2-6 p.m.
Pete is proud to be a “voice” for the annual ShopRite LPGA Classic each June, and does emcee work for groups like the National Football Foundation, The Old Grad Awards, and The 200 Club of Atlantic County. You can hear Pete each Tuesday and Friday on 97.3 ESPN at 5:30pm, and if you see him out & about in the community, he requests that you please say “Hi”. Send comments to PBrooksT@aol.com
