Sports & Entertainment
By Pete Thompson
Happy Holidays! For me, that’s Merry Christmas, but for many, it’s Happy Hanukkah, as that celebration is already underway. Whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Three Kings Day or even Festivus, may you have a SAFE and HAPPY holiday season!
Since I last wrote, the Eagles won for the first time in over a month. A high-profile rookie appears to have won the starting job at QB for now. The Phillies have landed a big-name exec to run their baseball operations. Also, a key member of the 1980 World Series Champion coaching staff passed away. As I write this column, there’s breaking news out of Cleveland regarding the baseball team there. In basketball, the Sixers get ready to begin preseason action, but a lingering rumor about an established NBA superstar won’t go away. The Flyers lock up another young defenseman for their blue line. Finally, perhaps the only Dallas Cowboys fan I’ve ever truly loved has joined the circle of saints.
From the entertainment world, I’ve been watching an old hit TV drama with my girlfriend’s son Michael and remembering how great it was the first time around. Plus, did you catch the one “free” showing of “A Charlie Brown Christmas” the other night? As always though, we begin with sports, and my thoughts:
As usual, I’ll start with the Eagles as I predicted they would lose 34-13 to the Saints, so imagine my surprise when they not only came out competitive, but they won the football game 24-21 at Lincoln Financial Field! In his first NFL start, rookie Jalen Hurts did it with his arm and his legs as he went 17 for 30 for 167 yards and a touchdown through the air, plus carried the ball 18 times for 106 yards. That running and throwing dual threat was just enough to help the Eagles to a three point win.
As a team, the Eagles ran the ball 36 times for 246 yards and only threw it 30 times. That’s what Hurts brings to the table as a dual threat QB. After some initial hesitation to name him the starter after the win, head coach Doug Pederson has now gone on the record as saying that Hurts will be the starter for the next game in Arizona against the Cardinals.
The Saints were the #1 defense against the run, and hadn’t given up 100 yards to an opposing player in 56 straight games. Hurts and Miles Sanders each went over 100 yards, as Sanders finally had a breakout game as well, carrying the ball 14 times for 115 yards and two touchdowns. One of those was a back-breaking 82 yard touchdown run. Hurts is a dual threat all to himself, but when you have him and Sanders both wreaking havoc, the defense doesn’t know who to key in on!
Don’t forget about the offensive line in the reasons for the win. Hurts wasn’t sacked once in the game, and the offensive line had a lot to do with that. Center Jason Kelce especially looked terrific. He and left guard Isaac Seumalo had key blocks on the Sanders 82-yard touchdown run, along with tight end Zach Ertz. Right guard Nate Herbig made up for a false-start penalty by making key goal-line blocks for Sanders on his 1-yard score later in the game.
And last, but certainly not least, don’t overlook the takeaways by the defense as well as the pass rush. Linebacker Duke Riley was in the right place at the right time on the pass that bounced off Alvin Kamara’s hands and into his for an interception. Josh Sweat’s fourth quarter strip-sack changed the momentum and sparked the Eagles’ game-winning touchdown drive. How about this stat for you? Sunday was just the fourth time the Eagles had multiple takeaways in a game. Their record this season when they record more than one takeaway? Four and oh! Takeaways are key.
Up next, a road trip to Arizona, followed by a game at the Cowboys. The Birds close out the regular season at home against the Washington Football Team. Ron Rivera’s club is actually in first place in the division right now after winning four straight, including impressive wins at the Steelers and on the road in San Francisco. Washington has a tough schedule though as they are home with Seattle and home with Carolina before playing at the Eagles to close things out. It’s possible that the game in Philadelphia on January 3rd could be for the division and a playoff spot.
Not long after I wrote my last column, the Phillies made some big news by hiring Dave Dombrowski to be their President of Baseball Operations. This is a huge “get” by Phillies owner John Middleton, and I’ve been critical of the owner, but I can’t be critical of this move. The Phillies just went out and signed a new baseball boss that brings a proven track record with him. The 64-year-old Dombrowski has taken teams to the World Series in three different cities. Winning in 1997 in Florida and in 2018 in Boston. He’ll work without a GM, although it will be interesting to see how he runs things. Dombrowski likes to make free-agent splashes in the past, and the Phillies have the fifth-highest payroll in baseball. Plus, they’ve cut employees and salary at every turn as they reportedly lost $145 million in 2020. No matter what, the Phillies will have a clear “man in charge” at the top. Dombrowski is described as an “alpha-male” executive who is as hands-on as it gets. He makes almost every road trip (few general managers do anymore) and didn’t have a general manager work with him in his last stop in Boston.
Now, the haters out there will point out that Dombrowksi has been the GM or head of baseball operations for more losing teams (15) than winning ones (13). Three times, in fact, he was in charge of teams that lost 100 games, a dubious feat that even the lowly Phillies have avoided since 1961. In the end, he’s a likely future Hall of Famer as an executive and signals that the Phillies ownership is still trying to “win now”. I’m happy he’s with the Phillies. Now, let’s see if he can start things off right by re-signing JT Realmuto!
There was some sad news from the Phillies organization since I last wrote, as Billy DeMars passed away at the age of 95 on December 10th. DeMars was the hitting coach for the 1980 World Series Champion team and helped guys like Larry Bowa, Garry Maddox and Mike Schmidt improve at the plate. No less than Pete Rose called him the best hitting coach he ever had and brought him with him to Cincinnati in 1995 when Rose was the player-manager there. R.I.P. Billy DeMars.
My last baseball item is about the team in Cleveland as they have announced that after 115 years of being called the Indians, they are going to change their name. Team owner Paul Dolan has said “it’s time” and added “the name is no longer acceptable in our world.” Now, as for when exactly the name will change, that’s not so clear. Dolan says “we’ll be the Indians in 2021 and then after that, it’s a difficult and complex process to identify a new name and do all the things you do around activating that name. We are going to work at as quick a pace as possible while doing it right.”
In basketball, the James Harden to the Sixers discussion doesn’t seem to be fading away, but Head Coach Doc Rivers is quick to point out it’s not coming from him. Rivers seems thrilled about getting to work with Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid and early indications are that Tobias Harris might have a breakout season. Harris had his best season as a pro under Rivers with the Clippers, so it stands to reason that he might succeed after being reunited with Doc. All-Stars Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons and veteran newcomers Seth Curry, Danny Green and Dwight Howard are getting a lot of attention, but don’t forget about Harris. He could be the “X” factor here as the Sixers have the potential to be really, really good.
Not long after I wrote my last column, the Flyers announced they had signed 23-year-old defenseman Phil Myers to a three-year contract extension that carries an annual $2.55 million dollar cap hit. With Matt Niskanen retired, Myers might find himself on the top pairing with Ivan Provorov. Myers had 16 points and a plus-17 rating in 50 games as a rookie last season. Signing him now to the extension rewards his efforts and also helps the Flyers manage the cap in the next few seasons. A right-handed shot, Myers would be a natural to step into the spot vacated by Niskanen’s sudden retirement. Myers and Provorov even played one full game together last season when Niskanen had the flu. Stay tuned.
My last item before I get to entertainment is to honor perhaps the only Dallas Cowboys fan I’ve ever truly LOVED. I wrote a few summers ago about my former pastor, the Rev. J. Scottie Griffin (pictured) as he would come to Avalon each summer and preach from the Wells Memorial Presbyterian Church there. Scottie was our pastor at my home church in Germantown from 1982-1987 and a lifelong Dallas Cowboys fan. He would needle me from the pulpit about how his Cowboys were going to beat my Eagles, but it was always done out of love. He passed away last week, and I wanted to acknowledge him once again in this space as the best preacher I’ve ever heard. His ability to weave a story with scripture was second to none, and I hope no less than Tom Landry himself was there to greet Scottie at the pearly gates once he got to heaven!
I’ll close with two items from entertainment as I’m having a blast watching old episodes of “ER” with my girlfriend’s son Michael on Pop-TV. You forget how riveting the NBC drama was, especially in the early seasons when every episode seemed to grab at your heart-strings. Watching it in 2020, I realize there would never be a “Grey’s Anatomy” without an “ER” first, so I tip my cap to the late Michael Crichton who created it, and to guys like John Wells and Christopher Chulack who breathed life into it allowing it to run for 15 seasons!
Lastly, did you catch “A Charlie Brown Christmas”the other night on PBS? Apple TV+ took a lot of flak (and deservedly so) for buying that program and putting it behind a pay-wall format. They did the right thing by making “A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving”and “A Charlie Brown Christmas”available for at least one free viewing on PBS on November 22nd and December 13th. If you missed them, you could sign up for AppleTV+, or wait until next year when hopefully they make them available for a one-time “free” viewing!
I’ll close with the reminder to please be kind, wear your mask, and be patient. Let’s all stay SAFE until the vaccine becomes available to everyone.
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
