Sports & Entertainment
By Pete Thompson
Welcome to April! Boy, if it feels like I just wrote last week, that’s because I did!
Before I forget though, let me wish you and your families a very Happy Passover and Easter holiday. Here’s hoping that you all get some deserved time off and the weather cooperates so you can get outside. Oh, and as far as that “holiday” on 4-1, please know that I’m not FOOLIN’..!!
Since I last wrote, the Eagles shocked everyone when they agreed to move DOWN from #6 to #12 in the upcoming NFL draft. The Birds will also be adding a game to their regular season schedule next season. The Phillies have come up North to begin a regular 162 game season. However, their final roster decisions are, shall we say, interesting! The Flyers are also tinkering with their roster as the NHL trade deadline is right around the corner. A veteran defenseman is shown the door. Finally, the Sixers continue to miss their big man, and their trade deadline acquisition has yet to play a game, but no one with the Sixers is hitting the panic button just yet. On the local front, a baseball player with local ties makes an appearance at Phillies spring training. Another heads down to Florida for the extended spring training and to see where the Phillies want him to pitch this season.
From entertainment, I stumbled across a drama on Showtime that I think I will probably binge watch over spring break. I also found a cool documentary on Netflix that takes me back to Friday & Saturday nights in the 90’s and early 2000’s. As always though, we begin with sports, and my thoughts:
Let’s start with the Eagles as my phone was blowing up on Friday March 26th right after the news dropped that the Birds were moving BACK in the upcoming NFL draft from six down to twelve. My first reaction was one of disappointment, as I felt like at six, even Howie Roseman couldn’t mess up that pick! However, upon further reflection, the move makes sense to me as the Eagles have a litany of issues, and one player is not going to fix them all.
Here are the details, as the Eagles move back six spots in the first round of next month’s NFL draft and add a first-round pick in 2022 after trading the No. 6 selection to the Miami Dolphins for the 12th pick. The Dolphins had traded back from the third spot to the 12th in a deal with the San Francisco 49ers earlier, a deal that netted Miami an extra first-rounder in each of the next two drafts as well as a third-rounder next year. Shortly after the trade with the Niners was reported, the Dolphins agreed to send the Eagles the 12th and 123rd picks in this year’s draft along with their first-rounder next year for the Eagles’ sixth and 156th picks.
When the smoke clears, there’s a good possibility that the Eagles will have three first-rounders in next year’s draft, depending on whether the conditional pick they get from the Indianapolis Colts in the Carson Wentz trade conveys as a first- or second-rounder. The pick will be a first-rounder if Wentz plays 75% of the Colts’ offensive snaps next season, or 70% if Indy makes the playoffs. If Wentz doesn’t play the required percentage of snaps, the pick will be a second-rounder.
Which means now our attention turns to who the Eagles might get at #12 as opposed to #6. I was all about Florida TE Kyle Pitts, but it’s likely he’ll be gone by the time the Birds select now. In fact, I’m okay if the Eagles look on the defensive side of the ball with their first round pick. Penn State linebacker Micah Parsons would look good in Eagle green, so would Jaycee Horn or Caleb Farley, cornerbacks from South Carolina and Virginia Tech respectively. Of course, the Birds haven’t drafted a linebacker in the first round since 1979, and Parsons ran a 4.39 in the 40 during Penn State’s Pro Day, so he might be gone by 12. Or, I might be completely wrong and they go for DeVonta Smith or Jaylen Waddle, wide receivers from Alabama. The 2021 NFL draft begins on Thursday April 29th.
One other Eagles note, as the NFL owners have added a 17th game to the regular season schedule starting in 2021. This is a good news / bad news scenario I think for the Eagles. The good news is, that the 17th game reportedly will be against the Jets, the NFL’s worst club. It’s the closest thing to a “sure-win” the Eagles could ask for. Meanwhile, the rest of the NFC East will visit the good teams that populate the rest of the AFC East. Washington goes to 13-win Buffalo, the Giants to 10-win Miami, the Cowboys to seven-win New England. The bad news is: the Eagles are top-heavy on their roster with players 30 or older. Jason Kelce is 33, Brandon Graham is also 33, Brandon Brooks is 32, Lane Johnson turns 31 in May, Darius Slay is now 30, and so is Fletcher Cox. That’s six KEY players age 30 or older, where a 17th game adds the risk of injury, etc.
Since we’re on age, Phillies outfielder Bryce Harper is now 28 years old, and he’s never won a playoff series. That’s right, Harper has never been past the divisional round of the postseason in his major league baseball career. He’s hoping that might change with the Phillies, but if they’re going to make the playoffs this season, they’re going to have to earn it. The entire NL East looks “loaded for bear”, as the Braves, Mets, Nationals and even the Marlins seem to be improved.
The Phillies have gone nine seasons without making the playoffs or even posting a winning record. Can they end that streak in 2021? Well, consider this…the Phillies have the longest streak in the National League without sniffing the postseason. The only team in baseball that has gone longer without a playoff berth is the Seattle Mariners.
Larry Bowa is a Phillies senior adviser who has played for, been a base coach and the manager, says “I think our lineup from top to bottom is as good as any lineup in the National League East. We are going to score runs and I really like our three pitchers at the top. I like the two pitchers we picked up, too.”
The top of the rotation is formed by Aaron Nola, Zack Wheeler and Zach Eflin. The two new additions are veteran free-agent signings Matt Moore and Chase Anderson. The bullpen appears to be much-improved with newcomers Archie Bradley and Brandon Kintzler, along with Sam Coonrod & Jose Alvarado. Also returning are Connor Brogdon, Hector Neris, David Hale, and long man Vince Velasquez.
And then there’s the regular lineup and the bench. Outfielder Odubel Herrera did NOT make the big league roster to start the season. The Phillies will platoon Adam Haseley and Roman Quinn in CF. Team president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski told reporters that the decision came down to at-bats, and not optics. According to Dombrowski, “You’re talking about somebody who had 50 spring-training at-bats over a couple years. It’s going to be tough for him to be consistent at this point. For us, it was better for him to go out and play on an everyday basis and see what happens over the next time period.” The Phillies begin a 162-game regular season at home with Atlanta at Citizens Bank Park on Thursday April 1st.
We’ll switch to the ice now, where if the playoffs began tomorrow, the Flyers would be on the OUTSIDE looking in. There’s no question the area of greatest need for the Orange & Black right now is on defense, and GM Chuck Fletcher made a bold move by putting defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere on waivers on March 30th. This move seems to signal that the Flyers are trying to free up salary cap space to make a major deal, but as of the writing of this column, no deal has been announced yet.
No matter what, it’s an inglorious end for the player they call “Ghost”. He turns 28 on April 20th but you have to remember how he started his career in Philly. He exploded on the scene in 2015 when he scored two overtime game-winning goals making him the first Flyers rookie to score multiple winners in a season. This season, he’s had a complete “elevator ride” as he’s gone from the top pairing to a healthy scratch, back to the top pairing down to the third pairing, and from the third pairing ultimately to the waiver wire. By the time I write my next column, let’s see if either Nashville’s Mattias Ekholm (6-foot-4, 215 pounds) or Columbus’ David Savard (6-2, 233) are in a Flyers uniform. They are both 30-year-old defensemen who are on the market and would certainly help the Flyers. The only question is, what will the Flyers have to give up?
Since we’re talking defense, you can’t help but smile at the ending to the Flyers game the other day at home against the Rangers. 25-year-old Samuel Morin scored his first NHL goal, and it proved to be the game-winner against New York. No matter how the season ends, this was a nice scene as every player on the ice mobbed Morin, knowing how special that goal was. You see, Morin has had to overcome two torn ACL’s in his right knee, and a handful of other injuries that might’ve sent a lesser player into retirement. He even overcame a brief position switch to left wing. Because of all the injuries, Morin played in just 28 games — eight with the Flyers, 20 with the AHL’s Phantoms — over the previous three seasons. But there he was the other day, scoring the game winner and getting the puck to give to his parents Pascal and Sylvie Morin. Thanks to Flyers PR guy Zack Hill for the picture of Sam with the puck in the dressing room afterwards.
For pro sports, I’ll close with the Sixers, as they picked up a point guard at the trade deadline, just NOT the one everyone thought they were targeting. The Sixers acquired George Hill in a three-team trade with the Oklahoma City Thunder and the New York Knicks. Philadelphia native and Villanova alum Kyle Lowry, remains with the Toronto Raptors.
Hill is 34-years-old, and is still rehabbing from thumb surgery that he had on February 2nd. According to Sixers coach Doc Rivers, “George Hill doesn’t have to do a rehearsal for us to find out if he can and play or not. We know exactly what he does.” Rivers did say though, that he hopes the 13-year veteran gets a little run prior to the playoffs, saying “now, hopefully, we have a 10-game window or more that he can get acclimated with the team, but I’m very confident that he can fit.”
The injury to Hill is described as a mallet finger injury. Joel Embiid has missed time with a left knee bone bruise, but hopefully Embiid is back soon. Things would be better if Dwight Howard could manage to avoid getting EJECTED from games! Howard had a rough time in Los Angeles, getting ejected after the first quarter of a 109-101 win over the Lakers. He was then ejected with 10 minutes and 35 seconds left in a 122-112 loss to the Clippers. As of the writing of this column, he has 13 technical fouls. Any player with 16 unsportsmanlike technical fouls in the regular season is suspended for one game. It’s not being dramatic to state that Howard has to become a little more mature and unselfish. Especially with Embiid still out with that knee injury.
I have two local sports items to close this portion of things, and they both have to do with Phillies baseball. First, I was watching a spring training game the other day and the starter, Matt Moore, left the ballgame in the first inning. #97 Zach Warren came in to replace him and my ears perked up when Phillies play by play guy Tom McCarthy announced that the 6-5 left-hander was a 2014 St. Augustine Prep graduate. The Phillies selected the Vineland native in the 2017 draft, and he was invited to camp as one of 18 non-roster, mini-camp participants. He’s likely to start the season in the minor leagues, but major props to a local guy for making it to a few big league spring training games and also for appearing on my TV…!
The second pitcher I will be tracking actively is one I’ve written about before, and that’s Mike Adams. The 26-year-old Egg Harbor Township resident was at the airport in Philly the other day, leaving for Clearwater, Florida and extended spring training before he should be assigned to one of the team’s minor-league affiliates. Because of COVID-19, the minor leagues are different now, and the Phillies have minor league teams in Clearwater, Lakewood, Reading and Allentown. Wouldn’t it be great to see Adams get PAID to pitch in Lakewood, Reading or Lehigh Valley? Thanks to his mother Joan for the picture.
As always, I’ll close with a few items from entertainment as I recently discovered “City on a Hill” on SHOWTIME and can’t wait for the upcoming spring break to binge watch the first ten episodes. Kevin Bacon stars as corrupt FBI agent Jackie Rohr. The series is set in Boston in the early 1990s when the city was rife with violent criminals, emboldened by local law enforcement agencies in which corruption, tribalism, and “taking it to the street” were the norm—until it all suddenly changed. I’ve only seen one episode and I’m already HOOKED.
Plus, the other night on NETFLIX, I came across a wonderful documentary called “The Last Blockbuster”. It’s a 2020 documentary film about the last Blockbuster store located in Bend, Oregon. Remember going to Blockbuster on a Friday or Saturday night to pick out a movie? Heck, are you like me and do you remember going to your small Mom & Pop video rental place in the 80’s? Blockbuster wiped those out, and then Netflix basically wiped out Blockbuster! This one is totally worth the watch, running at a quick hour and 26 minutes. You won’t be disappointed!
I’ll close with my reminder to keep wearing those masks and staying socially distant please. Vaccines continue to be given out in New Jersey with more and more people getting vaccinated every day. I’m fortunate enough to announce that I am now “fully vaccinated” and I hope that you will do the same. Hopefully “normal” is coming soon!
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
