Sports & Entertainment
By Pete Thompson
“At the Shore Since ’44!” or “Often Imitated, NEVER duplicated!”
Just two of the phrases that Charlie’s Bar & Restaurant have used in their marketing and advertising campaigns forever. I start off my column with them because Charlie’s was on the cover of last week’s Shore Local and that reminded me that it’s been FOREVER since I’ve been down to see my friends at 800 Shore Road in Somers Point. Jeff & Jimmy Thomas have carried on the tradition that their father and grandfather before them had, and that’s to run a good family business where folks can catch up, watch a game, laugh & tell stories, and have a great meal at the same time! When I first moved down to the area full-time in 2004, Charlie’s quickly became my “go to” spot, and there’s a reason they are part of what I call the “Holy Trinity” of Somers Point establishments. If you’re local, you already know about Charlie’s. But, if you’re down on vacation and just picking up a copy of this publication, I urge you not to go back to your home without stopping in at Charlie’s. You won’t regret it!
In sports, since I last wrote, the Sixers blew a golden opportunity to take a 3-1 series lead over the Atlanta Hawks in their second round NBA playoff series. The Phillies won 6 out of 8 at home before heading to the West Coast for a crucial road trip. There was also a huge emotional moment from one of the come-from-behind wins by the Phils last week. The Eagles sign a notable free agent QB as that meeting room is getting more crowded during the offseason. A few names have surfaced as potential trade targets for the Flyers. On the local front, Ocean City and Mainland meet up in the South Jersey Group III final for baseball. In fact, as I write this, three local baseball teams are still alive. As I write this, three local softball teams are still alive as well.
From entertainment, I’ve enjoyed a six-part docuseries on CNN that’s all about my favorite hours of television. Plus, did you see what Pink Floyd founding member Roger Waters said about Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg? As always though, we begin with sports, and my thoughts:
We’ll start with the Sixers as I feel they missed a GOLDEN opportunity to bring a 3-1 series lead back to Philadelphia for Game 5 after falling 103-100 in Atlanta on Monday night. Let’s start with a few of the things that really bothered me about Game 4.
The Sixers blew a huge lead as they were up by as much as 18 at one point in the ballgame, only to lose by three. They also turned the ball over 12 times, and perhaps the biggest failure? As a team, the Sixers only scored 38 points in the 2nd half. (4 by Embiid – all at the FT line – Embiid 0-12 from the field in the 2nd half).
Embiid did have a chance to win the ballgame, but his drive to the hoop and his layup attempt missed. Despite a playoff career high 21 rebounds to go along with 17 points, after the game, the big man admitted he’s not 100% saying normally he’d dunk a ball like that, but he just can’t jump, for obvious reasons.
The other key problem is Ben Simmons, who didn’t attempt a single field goal in the eight minutes he was on the floor in the 4th quarter. Hey, Simmons doesn’t shoot much to begin with, but when Embiid is hurting, SOMEONE has to shoot the basketball! After the game, Simmons admitted this, saying “I definitely should’ve been more aggressive and attacked more.” Let’s hope that by the time you read this, Game 5 will be in the books and Simmons will respond with a better effort.
A few more stats that illustrate how GREAT and how MADDENING things can be with Simmons. The 6-foot-11-point guard had zero turnovers for just the third time in 31 playoff games. However, Simmons also hit just 1 of 5 free throws. He’s shooting 34.0% from the line. That’s 17.4 percent worse than the next player with at least 10 attempts, and 27.3% worse than his 61.3% from the regular season, when he was 11th-worst in the NBA, and by far was the worst guard. You can’t make this stuff up!
In baseball, the Phillies slowly climbed back into the NL East race by winning 6 of 8 at home, however the Mets continue to win as well and are in first place. Perhaps nothing for the Phillies was more special during the last home-stand than when 24-year-old Luke Williams made his first career home-run in the big leagues a walk-off winner.
The Phillies had just four hits and made 15 straight outs in that game before Andrew McCutchen drew a one-out walk off Will Smith (1-5) in the ninth. Pinch-hitter Brad Miller popped out to second, bringing up Williams, who was promoted from Triple-A Lehigh Valley for his first taste of the majors. Williams then drove an 0-1 slider over the wall in left. It was the 24-year-old’s first homer in an affiliated game since connecting on Aug. 23, 2019 for Double-A Reading.
What made this so special was that his parents & family were there. And it capped off a memorable week for Williams, who helped Team USA clinch a spot in the Tokyo Olympics on Saturday night. He went 8 for 18 with a homer during the tournament before relinquishing his spot on the Olympic team due to his big-league call-up. If you caught that game on TV, or just look at the pictures, you see the pure JOY in his face, and hopefully that will provide the Phillies with a bit of an emotional lift going forward. At the end of the day, it is a GAME, right?
One final note on the Phillies as their weekend series at the Giants is ONLY going to be found on the new PEACOCK network. Now, if you’re like me, it’s a slight pain to switch from the traditional channels to PEACOCK, which I already get with my XFINITY. But, if you don’t have XFINITY it’s going to be more of a challenge to find the games.
The change marks an experiment in the way MLB games are distributed, focusing on nationwide streaming rather than local regional sports networks. The broadcast will feature one crew of announcers familiar to fans of both teams. Giants play-by-play announcer Jon Miller and analyst Mike Krukow will be joined by Phillies analysts John Kruk and Jimmy Rollins, a native of the Bay Area.
Now to football, where the Eagles quietly added to their QB room by signing former San Francisco backup Nick Mullens. The 26-year-old started 16 games in three seasons for the 49ers, eight games as an undrafted rookie in 2018 and eight more last season. You might remember that one of his starts last year was a prime-time loss against the Eagles when Jimmy Garoppolo was out with an ankle injury. That’s the game where Mullens threw an absolute gift directly to Eagles linebacker Alex Singleton for a pick-6 on Sunday night football. The 49ers went 2-6 in games Mullens started last year, and, he completed 64.7% of his passes, throwing 12 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.
Maybe Mullens will push Joe Flacco for the backup spot, but I don’t see this as a threat to Jalen Hurts in any way, shape, or form. The Birds also a few days prior to that addressed their need for a tight end by bringing back veteran tight end Richard Rodgers. This is the 4th time in as many years that Rodgers has hit the free agency market, only to wind back up in South Philadelphia. With a Zach Ertz trade or release still seemingly imminent and Dallas Goedert stepping into a featured tight end role, the Eagles were alarmingly thin at the position.
For a coach who values multiple-tight-end sets as much as Nick Sirianni did during his time in Indianapolis, a move to bolster the team’s depth at tight end makes sense. Although the “fan” in me still wishes they could somehow keep Ertz on the roster!
There’s not much to report on the hockey front, as the Flyers are at home watching while Tampa and the NY Islanders compete on one half of the bracket. The Vegas Golden Knights and Montreal are on the other side. As big of a hockey fan as I am, I have to admit I have watched VERY little of the playoffs. It just doesn’t have the same zip to me right now.
The Flyers did sign forwards German Rubtsov & Linus Sandlin to one-year deals. They’re both slotted for the AHL Lehigh Valley Phantoms, but the big moves are still to come. Could Nolan Patrick get traded? Is there any way to move Jake Voracek? Is there a defenseman out there that might come to the Flyers? To try and answer those, I’ll say, “not a one-for-one move on Patrick, only if you also threw in a draft pick to maybe get Seattle to take him in the expansion draft and I don’t see Chuck Fletcher doing that, and Seth Jones would look good in Orange & Black. Perhaps Dougie Hamilton instead.”
I can’t move on to the local stuff without acknowledging the upcoming U.S. Open in golf from Torrey Pines. That’s what I’ll spend a majority of my weekend doing, and definitely on Father’s Day as I’m hoping Phil Mickelson can FINALLY win the one elusive major title he’s been missing from a Hall of Fame resume.
Now, on the local front, I have to start with Group 3 South playoff baseball as I was part of the 500 or so folks who lined the field and outfield for Ocean City vs. Mainland in Linwood last weekend. What an outstanding game as Gannon Brady pitched a gem, helping the Red Raiders win 6-1 to win the program’s first sectional title since 2016. In addition, Brady helped his own cause at the plate, delivering a two-run double. In fact, as I write this, the Red Raiders have won again, beating Colts Neck in a Group 3 state semifinal, and will play Pascack Valley next for a state Group 3 championship.’
The Red Raiders one of three local baseball teams still alive as I write this. St. Augustine is set to play St. Joseph (Montvale) in a state Non-Public A final, and Holy Spirit is set to take on Morristown Beard in a state Non-Public B final. Good luck to all!
And I have to mention the Cedar Creek softball team too. Down by three runs against Delran, the Pirates rallied to tie it up at 7-7 and then senior Abby Gunnels won the game with an RBI single to right. Cedar Creek advances to play the winner of the Central Jersey Group II title game between top-seeded Bordentown and No. 2 Robbinsville in a state semifinal.
As I write this, the Pirates are one of three area softball teams still alive as St. Joe Academy and Hammonton (both located in Hammonton) are also still going. Again, good luck to all!
As always, I’ll close with a few items from entertainment as I thoroughly enjoyed watching “The Story of Late Night” (A CNN Original Series). I’m old enough to remember watching Johnny Carson. Nostalgic enough to remember when David Letterman was on Late Night on NBC, and have watched late night evolve into something that I generally DON’T stay up late enough to watch! If you’re looking for something to binge though, check this one out.
“The Story of Late Night” is a six-part docuseries that takes viewers on a journey back in time through present day of late-night television’s most memorable moments. Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel, Chelsea Handler, Trevor Noah, Conan O’Brien, Seth Meyers, Amber Ruffin, Lorne Michaels, Desus + Mero, Whoopi Goldberg, along with countless industry insiders give first-hand, behind-the-scenes accounts of an art form that changed the face of television forever.
Finally, are you a Pink Floyd fan? Did you see what Rogers Waters said about Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg? At a recent pro-Julian Assange event, Waters said Pink Floyd doesn’t need any Instagram money, revealing that the band denied the social media company’s request to use “Another Brick in the Wall, Part 2″ in an advertisement, even though he said “they offered us a huge, huge amount of money.” Waters reportedly held up a folder said to have the Instagram inquiry in it, and shared his response in front of the audience, saying “The answer is, ‘F– you. No f-in’ way.” He went on to question Zuckerberg’s success asking how he (Zuckerberg) made his way from making an app to rate women’s appearances to becoming “one of the most powerful idiots in the world.” Wow….and how was YOUR week?
I’ll close with a word about masks. Most places are now mask OFF. However, I still encourage you to carry one with you just in case. Be courteous and check what the rules & protocols are for each place prior to entering. The weather is warming up and summer is here. Let’s enjoy it SAFELY, okay?
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
