Sports & Entertainment
By Pete Thompson
Since I last wrote, the NFL draft has come and gone, and the Eagles appear to have done really well. The Birds made a huge Draft Day trade as well. The Sixers didn’t need a seventh game to dispatch the Raptors in the NBA playoffs, but just as Sixer fans were celebrating the fact that their team advanced, came news of a major injury to their MVP candidate. The Phillies ended the first month of the season with a record of .500, but also with some hitting issues. The Flyers season is over, but now the rebuilding work begins, and there are reports that the rebuilding will also start with a new head coach. On the local front, I was honored to be the emcee for a football banquet that honored high school scholar-athletes first and foremost. Plus, three local guys are headed to NFL teams after getting drafted, or signing as a free agent.
From entertainment, we sadly said goodbye to a country music legend. Also, I made it out to the movie theater again, this time to see a new release that’s been talked about a lot lately. Finally, I have some big news about future columns by me here in Shore Local. As always though, we begin with sports, and my thoughts:
I’ll start with the Eagles as I think they came through big-time in the NFL draft. They went into the draft with ten picks, and technically finished with five players, but they also made a major trade that was the huge news from Day One.
The Birds traded four picks total (15, 124, 162 & 166) to move up two spots and grab Georgia DT Jordan Davis with the 13th overall pick in the draft. Davis won the Bronco Nagurski Award as the college defensive player of the year, and the Eagles slid ahead of the Baltimore Ravens who appeared poised to take the 6-6, 341-pound defensive tackle. Davis posted a 4.7 time in the 40-yard dash at the combine. Folks describe him as a freakish athlete and the only question about him might be his conditioning. Eagles GM Howie Roseman was grinning like a kid on Christmas after the Eagles were able to draft Davis.
Then the trade news broke, as the Eagles traded the 18th pick overall and the 101st pick to Tennessee to acquire Pro-Bowl wide receiver A.J. Brown. The talented Brown then agreed to a four-year, $100 million contract with the Eagles that includes $57 million guaranteed. To me, this is the HOME RUN of the draft. Using assets to give QB Jalen Hurts another true weapon. Devonta Smith and A.J. Brown in the same offense? Along with Miles Sanders and Dallas Goedert? I think the Eagles offense could be explosive.
Here’s more on Brown, as he finished with more than 1,000 receiving yards in each of his first two seasons in Tennessee and only an injury last season kept him from breaking that mark again. The Eagles are getting him for ages 25, 26, 27 and 28 for less guaranteed money than Tyreek Hill, Stefon Diggs or Davante Adams. Again, if this pays off, this could be a huge win for GM Howie Roseman.
Look at it this way, the Dolphins traded five picks (including a 1st, 2nd and two 4ths) to pay Tyreek Hill, 28, an average of $30M per year. The Eagles traded two picks (a 1st and a 3rd) to pay A.J. Brown, 24, an average of $25M per year. I’m not the strongest at math, but even I can see which deal seems to be better!
The rest of the Eagles draft picks included some more surprises as at #51 overall, the Birds took Cam Jurgens, C, from Nebraska. Current center Jason Kelce whole-heartedly supports this pick even though it’s probably his replacement. Then, at #83 overall in the 3rd round, the Eagles were the team to take Nakobe Dean, LB out of Georgia. Dean slid way down the draft board as a lot of folks thought he’d go in the first or second round. He does have some questions about his health, but if he comes in with a chip on his shoulder, and stays healthy, he could be amazing. Finally, in the 6th round, the Eagles took Kyron Johnson, LB, from Kansas at 181 overall, and Grant Calcaterra, TE, SMU at 198 overall.
The NFL draft is not an exact science. And there’s always a risk that some of the picks won’t pay off. All I know for sure, is that it seems like the Eagles did really, really well. I also LOVE the trade for A.J. Brown, as he will become the first Eagle to wear #11 in Philly since Carson Wentz.
Now to the Sixers as after taking a commanding 3-0 series lead against Toronto, they made us “sweat it out” losing Games 4 and 5 before closing things out in Canada with a decisive Game 6 victory. As exciting as that was to see them win and advance, it didn’t take long for some of the air to come out of the balloon.
While Day 2 of the NFL draft was underway on Friday night (4-29), Shams Charania from The Athletic was the first to break the news that Sixers center & MVP candidate Joel Embiid had suffered a right orbital fracture and mild concussion in the series-clinching Game 6 win in Toronto. Count me among those Sixers followers who exclaimed “WHY…?”
The latest news on Embiid came from ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski as he tweeted that Embiid won’t travel for Games 1 and 2 in Miami, but there’s optimism that he could return as soon as either Game 3 or 4 in Philadelphia. He needs to clear concussion protocols and also see the doctor on his right orbital fracture.
As I write this, the Sixers went to Miami without Embiid for Game 1 and actually led the Heat by one point at the half. But, 106-92 the final, as Miami wins by 14. Tobias Harris with 27 points for Philadelphia. The Sixers also got 19 from Tyrese Maxey and 16 points, nine rebounds and five assists from James Harden. Can they win without Embiid? Let’s put it this way, none of the 19 ESPN experts I saw picked the Sixers to win the series, but again, it’s possible Embiid is back for Game 3 when the series shifts to Philadelphia.
In baseball, the Phillies ended their first month of the season with an 11-11 record after posting a 4-1 win over the Mets in New York. Kyle Schwarber hit a key home run in that winning effort, but the bigger story was the night before when the Fightins got no-hit by five different Mets pitchers. Tylor Megill and four relievers combined to toss the first no-no of the MLB season. Sadly, it came against the Phillies.
To me, that’s the biggest flaw so far with the Phils. They paid a bunch of money to add Schwarber & Nick Castellanos to a lineup that already had Bryce Harper and J.T. Realmuto. Of the five major team stat categories, Harper doesn’t lead ANY of them. Schwarber leads the team in home runs & RBI, while Castellanos leads the Phils in batting average, on-base percentage & hits. This is my way of saying that last year’s National League MVP needs to step it up!
From hockey, the Flyers finished a putrid season with a 25-46-11 record, dead last in the Metropolitan Division. Perhaps the only good news is that Philadelphia has the fourth-best odds (9.5 percent) of getting the number one pick in the 2022 NHL Draft.
No matter what pick they get, it appears that they will do it with a new bench boss. Reports are that the team is moving on from interim coach Mike Yeo. Yeo, 48, assumed the head coach position back in December after the Flyers fired Alain Vigneault. In 60 games behind the Flyers bench, Yeo went 17-36-7. The Flyers were Yeo’s third NHL team he’s coached, the previous two being the Minnesota Wild (2011-2016) and the St. Louis Blues (2016-2019). Yeo has a 246-181-45 record as an NHL Head Coach.
I’m just going to say this. I don’t care WHO the coach is, if the Flyers don’t assemble enough talent on the ice. They could resurrect Fred Shero or Toe Blake and they won’t win if they don’t have the right guys on the ice. That’s on ownership and GM Chuck Fletcher. It will be interesting to see who they bring in. Another former Flyer, like Rick Tocchet? Or a known name like Claude Julien? Again, until the talent level improves on the ice, I don’t think it matters who is behind the bench, but we shall see.
Now to some local items, as I was honored to be the Master of Ceremonies for the South Jersey chapter of the National Football Foundation banquet at the Carriage House in Galloway. This was our first in-person banquet since the pandemic, and it was awesome to see 27 high school football seniors get scholarships from the NFF. That’s the main purpose of the night, but kudos also to the individual award winners. Scott Campbell was the Official of the Year. James Melody from Cedar Creek won the Edward T. Byrnes Coach of the Year Award. The college players of the year were Bo Melton and Isiah Pacheco from Rutgers. Melton was in attendance. So was Ron Jaworski, who does so much for youth football and won the Distinguished American Award. “Jaws” also donated $5,000 to the NFF to make sure the scholarships continue to get handed out for years to come. FInally, Wildwood alum and Pitt alum Bill Osborn won the Contribution to Amateur Football Award. It was a great night and awesome to see so many smiling faces again.
Which leads me to my second local item, as I mentioned Bo Melton above. Melton was in Galloway and then less than a week later, he was getting drafted by the Seattle Seahawks. Round 7, #229 overall, Bo Melton joins a wide receiver room in Seattle that has D.K. Metcalf & Tyler Lockett. Congrats Bo! Less than an hour later, Pacheco was drafted by Andy Reid and the Kansas City Chiefs. Finally, Bridgeton alum Markquese Bell played safety for Florida A&M, but he signs a free agent deal with the Dallas Cowboys. There were reports that the Eagles came in late with a very strong offer, but Bell ultimately chose Dallas for where to sign and try to make their team. Good luck to all three players moving forward for sure.
I’ll close with a few items from entertainment, and I have some big news after my two regular entertainment blurbs here, so keep reading. First, I’ll start with the sad news that country music legend Naomi Judd has passed away at the age of 76. Reports are that her death was by suicide after a longtime struggle with mental illness. Very sad.
I wrote last time about going to see the new Nicolas Cage movie, and I did return to the Tilton Square Theater in Northfield for that. If you haven’t been to either Tilton Square, Ventnor Square or Harbor Square Theaters, you really need to check them out. Anyway, “The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent” was…eh. That’s my review. Eh. I mean, if you love Nicolas Cage, you’ll love this movie. I found it amusing. Pedro Pascal steals the film as a super Nick Cage fan and suspected drug lord. Let’s put it this way, I chose to see this movie instead of Liam Neeson in another vigilante-type film. I’m not a huge Marvel guy, but “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” comes out May 6th. “Firestarter” comes out on May 13th, and I may check that out, but I will definitely be there for “Downton Abbey: A New Era” on May 20th. See you at the movies!
And that’s a perfect way to end my final full-length column. The good folks at Shore Local have decided that moving forward, I’ll split the sports and entertainment into two separate columns. I’m excited about that, as they are both subject areas that I am very passionate about. Also, we move to weekly columns starting with the next issue, so each week I will have an “Extra Points” column for you on sports, and a “That’s Entertainment” column for you on movies, TV, books I’ve read, celebrity news, etc.
I’m very thankful for your readership and hope you will patronize the businesses you see in the pages here. The LOCAL in Shore Local comes from the support of those businesses, so please support them!
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
