Sports & Entertainment
By Pete Thompson
I hope you pick up this issue after enjoying time with family and friends for Thanksgiving 2021. Perhaps this year more than EVER we have so much to be thankful for as it was just a year ago that the pandemic was still in full swing and most of us were not able to partake in the usual Thanksgiving traditions.
Since I last wrote, the Eagles have won two in a row for the first time this season, and the FINALLY win a game at home this season! Plus, off the field, they sign a few players to contract extensions. The Flyers have a solid record so far, but are lacking some offensive punch of late. I was there as they inducted two of their own into the team’s Hall of Fame. The Sixers are in the middle of one of their toughest road trips of the year, and they’re on the road missing several key players. Meanwhile, Phillies star Bryce Harper picks up his second NL MVP award. Also, the Phillies make their first trades and moves of the offseason. Locally, it’s a rough finish for most of our local high school football teams in the playoffs, but one school takes a sectional crown.
From entertainment, something I’ve long anticipated is almost here on Disney-Plus. Also, I think I’m going to head out to the actual movie theater for a release that may be more “nostalgic” than good. As always though, we begin with sports, and my thoughts:
I’ll start with the Eagles as their “run-first” mentality paid off again as they beat the Saints at home 40-29. QB Jalen Hurts ran for three touchdowns on the ground, that’s an Eagles team record. The Birds now have the most NFL rushing yards since week 8 with 870 yards on the ground, a 217.5 average.
Miles Sanders ran for 94 yards, Hurts had 69, Jordan Howard added 63 and the Eagles racked up 242 yards on the ground against a team that allowed 72.9 yards rushing per game. The Eagles have surpassed 175 yards rushing in four straight games, including 200-plus in three victories in that span.
It’s the first home win for Nick Sirianni as head coach. Hurts wins two in a row for the first time, and Hurts has the most rushing touchdowns by a QB in the NFL so far this season.
If the season ended today, the Eagles would be on the outside looking in as far as the playoffs go, but they are definitely becoming a factor in the NFL playoff race and their schedule is about to get a LOT easier.
Let’s not overlook the defensive touchdown by Darius “Big Play” Slay. The Eagles led 20-7 with under a minute left in the second quarter when Slay stepped in front of Trevor Siemian’s pass intended for Deonte Harris and returned it 51 yards for his third TD in four games. He had a 32-yard fumble recovery for a score against the Lions on Oct. 31 and returned a fumble 82 yards for a TD the previous week at Denver.
Slay wasn’t the only defensive standout, as linebacker T.J. Edwards made a leaping interception of Siemian in the first quarter and that led to the Eagle’ss first touchdown of the day. The Eagles rewarded Edwards one day after the Saints win with a one-year contract extension. Edwards’ contract is worth up to $3.2 million with $2.15 million guaranteed, according to reports. The 25-year-old out of Wisconsin was slated to be a restricted free agent in the offseason, but with Edwards now signed through 2022, the Eagles will avoid needing to tender him or match a competing offer from another team.
Edwards is not the only player to get a new contract as before the Saints game, the Eagles first signed tight end Dallas Goedert to a contract extension, and then his roommate Avonte Maddox gets a new deal as well. Goedert gets a four-year extension worth $59 million with $35.7 of that guaranteed. Then, one day later, Maddox is locked up with a three-year extension worth $22.5 million with $13.3 guaranteed. Since the beginning of the season, the Eagles have signed five players to contract extensions, including left tackle Jordan Mailata, defensive end Josh Sweat, tight end Dallas Goedert, cornerback Avonte Maddox and linebacker T.J. Edwards.
In hockey, the Flyers are off to an 8-5-3 spot and in a playoff spot in hockey’s toughest division, the Metro. However, they are also trending in the wrong direction as they’ve lost two games in a row for the first time this season and now have three more games against very good teams. As I write this, the Flyers play at Tampa Bay, at Florida, and home with Carolina, three teams with a combined 36-8-6 record.
Flyers GM Chuck Fletcher made a big splash revamping the defense and signing several key players during the offseason. However, injuries to a few key players are significant right now. As I wrote last week, defenseman Ryan Ellis is “week to week”, and now forward Kevin Hayes is also listed as “week to week” after reinjuring himself in a 2-1 win over the Calgary Flames. Hayes got tangled up with Flames forward Elias Lindholm in the second period of that game. He made the trip with the team to Tampa but is not expected to play either of the two road games in Florida.
The bigger problem for the Flyers right now is their lack of scoring with just 18 goals in their last ten games while giving up 27. Hopefully, that changes on this quick Florida road trip, but they are looking for an offensive spark.
Just one final Flyer note as I was in person at the Wells Fargo Center to see Rick Tocchet and Paul Holmgren go into the Flyers Hall of Fame. Both of those players were the epitome of “Flyers Tough”. The only disappointing thing is that they didn’t do a good job of telling fans to be in their seats by 6:30pm and the arena was mostly empty as they gave their speeches. Hey, I was there!
To basketball now, as the Sixers are on a West Coast road trip and missing three starters because of various reasons. Tobias Harris is the latest to miss time (again) as he is suffering from a left hip strain. Remember, Harris had missed five games and nine days after testing positive for Covid-19.
Meanwhile, small forward Danny Green (left hip tightness) was scheduled to miss his fourth straight game when the Sixers played the Kings. The game also marks the eighth consecutive missed game for All-Star center Joel Embiid (COVID-19 health and safety protocols). The banged-up Sixers (9-8) have lost six of their last seven games without him. Trying times indeed.
The news is much better for the Phillies, as slugger Bryce Harper wins his second National League MVP award. Harper becomes the sixth Phillie to win the award, and first, since Ryan Howard and Jimmy Rollins went back to back in 2006 and 2007. Harper was emotional on MLB Network after Mike Schmidt made the announcement saying “to win this award again means so much to me. I take pride in giving my all every time I’m on the field. I have great teammates &
and an incredible fan base who pushed me all season and helped me bring this award back home to the great city of Philadelphia.”
The Phillies also made their first trades of the offseason as they acquired relief pitcher Nick Nelson from the Yankees and bolstered their catching depth in a pair of minor deals. But, the biggest Phillies news this issue might be that they’ve settled their lawsuit with the creators of the Phillie Phanatic. The old Phillie Phanatic will soon be the new Phillie Phanatic as the Phillies will be permitted to again use the original version of their famous mascot after finalizing the settlement.
The Phillies unveiled an altered Phanatic in February 2020 after they sued the creators — Bonnie Erickson and Wayde Harrison — in 2019 when they threatened to obtain an injunction against the team’s use of the mascot and send the snout-nosed, shaggy, flightless green bird into free agency. The settlement, which included the Phillies paying an undisclosed amount of money to the creators, allows the Phillies to now use either the new or old Phanatic. In my mind, that says, look for the old Phanatic to return next season.
On the local front, it’s a rough championship week for most local high school football teams, but major props to Cedar Creek high school as the Pirates beat Delsea Regional 30-13 to win the third sectional title in school history. That’s pretty amazing because Cedar Creek didn’t play varsity football until 2011. Senior wide receiver JoJo Bermudez leads the way with 12 catches for 246 yards and two touchdowns to propel the Pirates to victory. The University of Cincinnati recruit now has 183 catches for his career, breaking the South Jersey record of 180.
Cedar Creek is now a perfect 12-0 on the season, as the Pirates will next meet Central Jersey champion, Woodrow Wilson, for the Regional Group III championship at Rutgers University at 7 p.m. on Saturday, December 4th. The Pirates did beat Woodrow Wilson 21-8 in a regular-season game back on October 1st. Also, Millville (10-1) will play (9-2) Winslow at Rutgers the following afternoon at 4 p.m. for the Regional Group IV Championship.
As always, I’ll close with a few items from entertainment as by the time you read this, I’ll be “binge-watching” the Beatles “Get Back” documentary that’s going to drop on Thanksgiving Eve on Disney Plus. This is a GIFT to all Beatles fans, like me!
Finally, some families tend to go out to the movies after they eat their Thanksgiving meal, and we might check out the new Ghostbusters film, “Ghostbusters: Afterlife” The movie posted a 44 million dollar opening weekend, and while I read one review that said the movie wasn’t very good, I think the “nostalgia” factor alone will be enough for me to go check it out.
I was fortunate enough recently to get a third Covid-19 vaccine and my booster shot. If you’ve followed the news lately, you know that this Covid-19 pandemic is not over. It is my continued hope that you stay safe, stay healthy, and when you’re indoors if a place requires you to wear a mask, it’s for a reason. Please keep leading with KINDNESS.
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
