Sports & Entertainment
By Pete Thompson
Earlier this summer I wrote about how actor Kelsey Grammer had made an appearance at the Atlantic City Beer & Music Festival at Bader Field and I was so bummed out that I missed him. When I heard he was scheduled to make another appearance (or two) in Atlantic City, I made sure I didn’t miss him a second time!
Grammer was at the historic Irish Pub Atlantic City on St. James Place last week, and also made a nighttime appearance at Steel Pier. Let me just say it was a real pleasure to meet him for a few minutes and to express to him what a big fan I am of his work.
Since I last wrote, the Phillies have slid out of first place. The Eagles have played one preseason game and are hosting their second opponent for some joint practices before preseason game #2. The Sixers are wrapping up summer league play. The Flyers are getting set to host their development camp. Fresh off the Tokyo Olympics a Delran native announces her retirement from the Olympic team. In golf, the ShopRite LPGA is fast approaching. Plus, a historic Pennsylvania club has big news about some future U.S. Opens.
From entertainment, I’ll have more below about meeting Kelsey Grammer and my interaction with him. Also, my girlfriend and I watched a fascinating documentary on Amazon Prime about one of the biggest Hollywood actors of the 80’s and 90’s. As always though, we begin with sports, and my thoughts:
For the second week in a row, I’ll start with the Phillies, but only to note that they are no longer in first place as I write this. Losing two out of three to the Dodgers and two out of three to the Reds will do that to you! As I write this, the Atlanta Braves are in first place in the N.L. East, a game and a half ahead of the idle Phillies.
One thing to take note of though, is that the Phillies remaining schedule is easier than the Braves or the Mets the rest of the way. Beginning on Tuesday night in Arizona, 20 of the Phillies’ next 28 games will be against sub-.500 teams. If the best path to winning a watered-down National League East is the one with the least resistance, the Phillies should be considered the favorite. The Phillies have the softest remaining schedule of the NL East contenders. Their opponents have a .468 winning percentage, compared to .489 for the Braves’ and .502 for the New York Mets’.
That doesn’t mean the Phillies don’t have problems though. Including Opening Day starter Aaron Nola, who threw another dud against the Reds on 8/15. Once again, Nola was unable to finish off hitters after getting to two strikes. In 4 1/3 innings against the Reds, Nola gave up six hits — all in two-strike counts. Jonathan India’s leadoff homer came on an oh-two pitch. Reds pitcher Sonny Gray singled on a two-strike curveball in the third inning. Shogo Akiyama’s two-run double also came on a two-strike curve. Other than a few flashes of brilliance, it’s been a HORRIBLE season for Nola, who now has a 4.48 ERA, which ranks 43rd among 52 pitchers with enough innings to qualify for the ERA title. Awful.
By the time you read this, Kyle Gibson, Ranger Suarez and Zack Wheeler will all have started for the Phillies in Arizona. The Phils then head to play a good Padres team in San Diego before returning home to play some of those “easy” teams.
One last Phillies item and it’s about the newest Phillie Kyle Gibson. Gibson and his wife Elizabeth are donating this season to the Philadelphia food bank charity “Philabundance” for every strikeout he throws, and to “Cradles to Crayons” for every win by the Phillies. Gibson, 33, won his first two starts. And it didn’t take long for the community to feel that impact, too. “Philabundance” is the region’s largest food bank and distributes more than 24 million pounds of food a year to those in need in the Delaware Valley. “Cradles to Crayons” provides children in need with essential items, such as backpacks, coats, shoes, toys, and books. Way to go Kyle Gibson and Elizabeth Gibson!
To the Eagles now, as the big news out of preseason game #1 was that they didn’t embarrass themselves. New coach Nick Sirianni and the Birds lost the game 24-16 to the Steelers, but it’s preseason, so the final score really doesn’t matter. What does matter is that the Birds didn’t look overmatched. They lead 10-zip after one quarter of play, which is when the starters were in there the most. To me, not a terrible first effort at all.
Of course, the secret is out now on wide receiver Quez Watkins who’s been having an outstanding training camp by all indications. Watkins caught a short bubble-screen pass from backup QB Joe Flacco and then took it 79-yards to the house for a touchdown. Watkins could’ve had a second touchdown earlier in the game, but Jalen Hurts overthrew him when he had a step on the corner. I think Watkins has good speed, and will only shine more when top pick DeVonta Smith returns.
Speaking of which, Smith was back as a limited participant at the first joint practice the Eagles had with the Patriots at the NovaCare Complex on Monday. This is always fascinating to me that teams now welcome another NFL team into their complex to practice and train. Especially the Patriots, right? Those two are scheduled to meet at Lincoln Financial Field on Thursday August 19th with the final preseason game for the Eagles scheduled for Friday August 27th at the Jets in East Rutherford.
In basketball, the Sixers have one more game to play in Las Vegas Summer League action as I write this. Paul Reed has been the big story for the Sixers so far as the power forward / center became the second player in NBA Summer League history to have a 20-20 game the other night. Reed had 27 points, 20 rebounds, four assists, four steals and four blocks in Sunday’s 99-96 overtime loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves. The second-year player went 11-for-17 from the field, including making 2 of 3 three-pointers. Keep in mind, this came one night after a 14-point, 10-rebound effort in a 100-80 loss to the Boston Celtics. Keep an eye on Reed and if this offense can translate to the regular season!
The Summer League games don’t really count, but Sixers fans are getting an opportunity to learn more about Reed, Tyrese Maxey, Isaiah Joe, and first-round pick Jaden Springer. In the end, the Summer League is about seeing what you have in your rookies, and also seeing if your second-year players can take a big step forward. I’d say, so far, so GOOD.
Which leaves us with the Flyers out of the four major pro sports to still discuss. The latest news there is that the Flyers development camp will be held Aug. 28 to Sept. 1 in Voorhees and will include three of their former No. 1 draft picks. Right winger Wade Allison, center Morgan Frost, and defenseman Cam York are among the highly regarded prospects who will attend the Flyers’ development camp. A total of 29 players are scheduled to attend the camp, including 20 Flyers draft picks. The team says an on-ice schedule, along with potential sessions that may be open to the public, will be announced closer to the start of camp.
On a sad note, former Flyers beat writer and journalist Jay Greenberg has passed away at the age of 71 from complications from the West Nile virus. During his five decades of sports journalism, Mr. Greenberg worked for the Philadelphia Daily News from 1978 to 1989 and covered some of the Flyers’ and hockey’s greatest moments. He wrote about the team’s losses in the Stanley Cup Finals in 1980, 1985, and 1987, and scored an exclusive interview with Wayne Gretzky when the superstar was traded from Edmonton to Los Angeles in 1988. On a more personal level, I knew Jay from the Flyers press box and I was excited to have him as a guest on my radio show on 97.3 ESPN to talk about his great book “The Philadelphia Flyers at 50: The Story of the Iconic Hockey Club and Its Top 50 Heroes, Wins & Events.” R.I.P. Jay Greenberg…you will be missed!
From the soccer pitch, U.S. Women’s National Team star Carli Lloyd has announced that she will retire this fall after a 16-year career that included two World Cup championships, two Olympic gold medals and probably the greatest big-game performance in women’s soccer history. The 39-year-old forward from Delran will continue playing in four U.S. national team friendlies and the remainder of the National Women’s Soccer League season with Gotham FC.
Lloyd ranks second behind Kristine Lilly in U.S. national team appearances (312) and fourth in goals (128), including two in the bronze-medal victory over Australia at the Tokyo Olympics. She is also sixth in assists (64). Only three other players in international women’s soccer have played in at least 300 matches. I got to meet Lloyd briefly at the Philadelphia Sports Writers Banquet in Cherry Hill a few years back. At the time, I found her to be a focused and driven individual. I see that she’s repaired her relationship with her family, and wants to spend more time with her husband, so that’s good to see. In fact, she said “We are both looking forward to starting this next chapter of our lives without my everyday grind of training and playing, but I will most likely need another outlet for my competitiveness,” she said. “Perhaps that will be golf?”
Speaking of golf, tickets are now on sale for the 2021 ShopRite LPGA Classic Presented by Acer, where the world’s best female golfers will come together in Atlantic City at Seaview, A Dolce Hotel for the area’s largest annual sporting event, Sept. 27-Oct. 3. Tickets are available for purchase now exclusively at www.ShopRiteLPGAClassic.com.
Tournament officials have also that all service personnel, including military (active, reserve, retired and veterans), fire, police, EMS and front-line healthcare workers (doctors and nurses) and accompanying family will receive free admission throughout championship week courtesy of SERVPRO. These heroes also will have access to the Patriots’ Pavilion presented by Kleenex and SERVPRO, a private hospitality suite located on the 11th green. Tickets are required and can be downloaded for free at www.ShopRiteLPGAClassic.com.
I’m going to play in the upcoming media day for the event at Seaview and am looking forward to returning to the event as well. Olympian Mel Reid is scheduled to defend her 2020 title, and the ShopRite LPGA Classic Donated $1.5 Million to Local Charities in 2020. It’s always a GREAT thing when women’s pro golf returns to Galloway.
Which leads me to my last sports item, and that’s about golf at Merion. The USGA announced that Oakmont (near Pittsburgh) will become the second U.S. Open anchor site, joining Pinehurst as they are starting to form a “rotation” of courses that will be used. Within that announcement was word that Merion, which is already scheduled to host the 2022 Curtis Cup Match and the 2026 U.S. Amateur, will also host the 2030 and 2050 U.S. Opens, as well as the 2034 and 2046 U.S. Women’s Opens, with additional amateur championships to be named in the future. This is HUGE news for the historic club in Ardmore, PA as now two more U.S. Opens will be held on the hallowed grounds. The dates are significant too as 2030 will be the 100th anniversary of Bobby Jones’ last U.S. Amateur title, and 2050 will be the 100th anniversary of Ben Hogan’s U.S. Open win. With any luck, I’ll be 59 and 79 for those two big events and (hopefully) in attendance!
As always, I’ll close with a few items from entertainment and I’ll start with my meeting with “Cheers” and “Frasier” actor Kelsey Grammer. I was so happy to see him as warm and engaging with all who wanted to meet him at the Irish Pub (164 St. James Place) in Atlantic City the other day. Most folks were content to take a picture or say a kind word, but I was thrilled to get a minute or two with Grammer and tell him how much I admired his work recently in “Dr. Death” which I wrote about here in SHORE LOCAL. I also got to tell him how much I enjoyed his series “Boss” that ran on Starz for two seasons in 2011 and 2012. He was so GOOD in that series and he smiled when I mentioned it, making sure to thank me for recognizing his good work.
Speaking of good work, how many films have you seen and admired the work of Val Kilmer in? The 61-year-old exploded on the scene in 1984 with “Top Secret!” and then “Real Genius” in 1985. Plus, who can forget his role in “Top Gun” in 1986…? I personally thought his best acting job was when he portrayed the late Jim Morrison in “The Doors” movie in 1991, Oliver Stone’s look at the legendary singer and group. I’m writing about this because my girlfriend and I watched “Val” his 2021 documentary film on Amazon Prime that includes a lot of behind the scenes footage that Kilmer himself shot. Kilmer had amassed over 800 hours of footage of that featured him growing up, attending school, auditioning, his career, and family. Previously the footage had sat in boxes for years, but once Kilmer was diagnosed with throat cancer and began losing his voice, it made him want to tell his story. The film is narrated by Kilmer’s own words, through his son Jack Kilmer. I found this to be fascinating and extremely watchable.
I’ll close with a word about COVID-19 and the delta variant. It is my continued hope that you stay safe, stay healthy, and if a place requires you to wear a mask, it’s for a reason. Above all, just keep being KIND to one another.
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
