How is it August already? Hopefully this finds you enjoying the last month of summer as “Back to School” aisles are already set in stores and September is fast approaching…!
By PETE THOMPSON
Since I last wrote, the Phillies have beaten bad teams on the road, but shown they can’t beat the best team in the NL East. The Eagles are all in the nest at training camp. The Sixers have filled their last two roster spots. Locally, the first of the “Big Three” for Lifeguard Racing is in the books.
From the entertainment world, I binge watched the seventh and final season of “Orange Is The New Black” on Netflix, and I can’t wait to get back to the Tilton Square Theater to see a movie that features two of America’s biggest male stars. As always though, we begin with sports, and my thoughts for the week that was:
The Phillies went 4-1 on their road trip to Pittsburgh and then Detroit, but promptly came home and embarrassed themselves losing two out of three to the Braves. The talent gap between the two teams is obvious and folks are screaming for Phillies GM Matt Klentak to do something prior to the trade deadline. Starting pitching is probably their biggest problem, but I had Matt Gelb from “The Athletic” on my show on 97.3 ESPN and when I asked him where the “drop-off” was in the Phillies rotation, he answered “Probably right after Aaron Nola”. In other words, Klentak would need to go get four starting pitchers, but I’d settle for just one decent veteran arm.
Speaking of “The Athletic”, I signed up for the subscription based service and so far I haven’t been disappointed. Outstanding Philly beat writers like Matt Gelb, Meghan Montemurro, Zach Berman, Bo Wulf have all migrated there. National writers like Jayson Stark (who just went into the Baseball Hall of Fame) and Ken Rosenthal are there too. It’s well worth my $3.99 a month.
In football, the Eagles are all at training camp and Doug Pederson’s message to them upon returning was “eliminate the outside noise and focus on the work that needs to be done”. Pederson knows he has a Super Bowl level team, but he’ll be darn sure that there won’t be a repeat of 2011 when QB Vince Young infamously mentioned the phrase “Dream Team” in training camp, only for the Eagles to go out and struggle.
On my radio show, our 97.3 ESPN Eagles insider John McMullen says the defense is the side of the ball with more questions than answers right now, and I tend to agree with him. The team lost Chris Long to retirement and Michael Bennett to trade. It remains to be seen if the secondary will be healthy and effective. Plus, with linebacker Jordan Hicks now gone, how will the linebackers stack up? John mentioned safety turned linebacker Nate Gerry as a key player to watch.
Of course, all eyes will be on Carson Wentz. Since his rookie season, he hasn’t been able to stay healthy for another full season, and Nick Foles is in Jacksonville now. It’s imperative that #11 stays upright and Pederson has said he will closely monitor his snaps and play during the preseason to make sure he’s ready to go for the season opener.
One more item on football, although I was tempted to put this in the entertainment part of the column. The Oakland Raiders are going to be the featured team on HBO’s “Hard Knocks”. With former ESPN analyst Jon Gruden there as coach and former TV analyst Mike Mayock as GM, I’m thinking that will be some “must-see” television. I know my DVR will be set!
While I’m on sports and TV mixing, TNT announced last week that it will end the NBA “Players Only” broadcasts next season. Hooray…! I believe a broadcast should have at least one, true, play by play voice, and even though I liked some of the insight the players were bringing, with no lead announcer, that’s like not having a conductor for the orchestra. A welcome change if you ask me.
The Sixers announced they signed guard Trey Burke and are bringing back shooter Furkan Korkmaz. Count me in the camp that was hoping that Kyle Korver would return to Philadelphia and possibly end his NBA career where he began it. However, Korver signed with the Bucks to reunite with his old coach Mike Budenholzer in Milwaukee. Korkmaz is younger and the Sixers played it right by declining his option originally and still getting him back for a lesser salary.
Finally, Atlantic City wins the 50th Dutch Hoffman Memorial Lifeguard Races thanks to a win in the singles row by Vince Granese. This is the first of the “Big Three” for area lifeguard racing. The Margate Memorials are this Friday night (Aug. 2nd) and the South Jersey Championships are in Longport on Friday August 9th. If you’ve never been out to the races, it’s really a fun (and FREE) thing to do.
Entertainment now, as I’m sad to say goodbye to the women of Litchfield on “Orange is the New Black” on Netflix. I binge watched the seventh and final season and it had all the emotions I expected. Funny, sad, poignant, timely, topical and relevant. Most people have never been to prison, but in seven seasons, I feel like creator Jenji Kohan did an accurate job of portraying what it’s like for folks in there. The show was definitely a game-changer for episodic television and I’d recommend it to anyone 16 and older.
I’ll also be checking out “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” by Quentin Tarantino real soon in the theater. Somehow, Brad Pitt & Leonardo DiCaprio had never worked together before this, but Tarantino matches them up in his homage to 1960’s Los Angeles. The “Lion King” remake won the box office weekend, but at just over $40.4 million, “Once” rivals “inglorious Basterds” for Tarantino’s best opening weekend ever. I can’t wait to see it.
Remember, you can listen to me on the radio each Saturday on 97.3 ESPN from 8-10 a.m. It’s the “Pete Thompson Show”, and I’ve been calling it “Breakfast with the PT”, so I hope you’ll tune in and interact with me on the air.
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” each day 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 on 97.3 ESPN at 5:30p, and if you see him out & about in the community, he requests that you please say “Hi”. Send comments to PBrooksT@aol.com
