Extra Points with Pete
Sports & Entertainment
By Pete Thompson
Hello and welcome to the month of March! It’s hard to believe that we are basically at the one-year anniversary of things really shutting down for the pandemic and such. Thankfully, I’ve always associated the month of March with basketball and March Madness, and there are telltale signs of that sport returning all around.
Since I last wrote, the Sixers two biggest stars had to sit out the NBA all-star game because of COVID protocols. On the college level though, the MAAC Tournament is back at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City. Will you fill out a NCAA Tournament bracket this year? In hockey, the Flyers finally got to play in front of their home fans, but the orange & black are on the outside looking in at the playoff picture right now. The Phillies are making their way through a spring training schedule of games, while mourning the loss of a former teammate. Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie is in the news about his reported stance on whether or not the Birds should draft a QB this April. The Eagles are also mourning the loss of a former player. Finally, on the local level, the area high school basketball season is in the books, and one local girls coach decides to hang up his whistle.
From the entertainment world, there’s a new drama on television based off a very successful movie that I’m watching. Plus, did you catch the four-part docuseries on TNT about their signature program “Inside the NBA”…? As always though, we begin with sports, and my thoughts:
The Sixers went into the all-star break with the best record in the Eastern Conference at 24-12. That was a half a game better than Brooklyn, but lookout as the Nets signed former All-Star Blake Griffin during the break. That means the Nets now have Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, James Harden and Blake Griffin on the same team. Um, WOAH!
As for the Sixers, Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons each had to miss the All-Star Game in Atlanta because of contract tracing. Before they arrived in Atlanta, each guy was exposed to a Philadelphia-area barber who has tested positive for COVID-19. So, they each missed the game in Atlanta, but now the question becomes, will they be cleared and ready to go when the Sixers play in Chicago on Thursday night? The duo needs to continue to test negative for five consecutive days before they can rejoin the team.
In that second half of the season, coach Doc Rivers’ biggest challenge might be to keep his team healthy. The Sixers are scheduled to play 36 games over 67 days once the second half begins. They’ll have nine back-to-backs, with three sets per month in March, April, and May.
Put me in the category of someone who wants the Sixers to make a move prior to the NBA Trade Deadline on March 25th. In recent days, the names Larry Nance Jr. and Zach Levine have been floated out in different stories from different outlets. See, things in the NBA are never easy, because the money has to match up in any trade. Even still, I see Brooklyn adding talent, and hope the Sixers are able to do the same.
A little closer to home, the MAAC Tournament is going on right now at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City. This is fitting because last year, that event never really got going as the pandemic shut everything down. The fans that are attending are socially distanced and mostly made up of “friends and families” of the participating programs.
In a press release, Rich Ensor, the MAAC Commissioner said “This is a significant first step in the return to athletic competition in New Jersey and the MAAC membership is pleased to be the first event in Boardwalk Hall since last March when the pandemic abruptly shut down March Madness.” He continued, “For most MAAC basketball fans we offer the promise that in 2022 the conference expects full normalization of operations at the championships including the Fan Fest and the many schoolchildren related activities that were planned for the Atlantic City community last year.”
I’ll just add on top of that and say “here’s hoping!” The MAAC and their partnership with Atlantic City seems promising. Once it can fully get going and underway.
One last item on college basketball now as I recently came across a picture of myself and Kyle Korver from what was then called “Arch Madness” in St. Louis in 2003. I was lucky enough to cover the 6-7 Korver for all four years of his college career at Creighton and the Bluejays were then in the Missouri Valley Conference, which they won in 2003 and secured an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. 18 years later, Korver is taking some time off from basketball and contemplating retirement. I will say this, even though he turns 40-years-old on St. Patrick’s Day, Korver most definitely can still knock down 3’s in the NBA. The question is, does he still want to? No matter what, I’m proud to have been associated with and a friend to a 17-year NBA player.
In hockey, the Flyers sit on the outside looking in at the playoff picture after losing two out of three in Pittsburgh and then returning home to the Wells Fargo Center only to lose 3-1 to the Washington Capitals. The good news is, that just over 3,000 fans were able to attend last Sunday night’s game. The first time they had a crowd for any sporting event there in 362 days.
What’s the biggest problem with the Flyers right now? Well, simply put, their special teams are not very…um…special! They are 28th out of 31 teams on the penalty kill – successful just 72.2% of the time – and 22nd on the power play (18% success rate). A year ago, they were in the top 15 in both categories: the penalty kill was 11th at 81.8%, and the power play was 14th at 20.8%. One positive note is that the Flyers are shooting the puck more lately. After all, you can’t score if you don’t SHOOT.
To expand on that, the Flyers had 35 or more shots in six of their last seven games after not surpassing 31 shots in any of their first 15 contests. Again, you can’t score if you don’t SHOOT the puck!
Perhaps the top story out of Phillies Spring Training right now is the health of catcher J.T. Realmuto. There’s good news on that front as Realmuto is no longer wearing a cast and looks to be on track to be ready for opening day.
In centerfield however, Adam Haseley has been forced out of the competition there with a groin strain. Roman Quinn has gotten consideration because of his speed, but he hasn’t been very successful so far this spring with the bat. To me, the leader so far is Odubel Herrera. Of course, he comes with the baggage of his off-the-field incident in Atlantic City in 2018, but so far, he seems to be doing everything right and saying all the right things. An All-Star in 2017, Herrera would also provide a left-handed bat to a right-handed-heavy lineup. We shall see.
I do want to acknowledge the passing of former Phillies relief pitcher Rheal Cormier. Known as “Frenchy” to his teammates and friends, the 16-year MLB player died on Monday from cancer. Cormier, a native of Canada, spent six seasons with the Phillies (2001-06) and his 363 appearances trail only Tug McGraw as the most in franchise history by a left-handed reliever. His best season came in 2003 when he went 8-0 with a 1.70 ERA, which was the second-lowest mark that season by a reliever and the sixth-lowest by a Phillies reliever since 1900. “Frenchy” thanks for the memories! You will be missed.
(Courtesy: The Phillies / MLB)
Which leaves me with the Eagles as the big news on that front is with regard to the owner Jeffrey Lurie. According to ESPN’s Chris Mortensen, Lurie has told his team to prioritize making Jalen Hurts the starting quarterback next season and not to draft a QB with the #6 pick overall. Let me say this, I have a major problem with that. Yes, he’s the owner of the team and it’s his team to do with what he wants. However, I think if Lurie is as involved as the reports indicate, this is a trouble development for me. Owners should not be making personnel decisions, in my opinion.
One other Eagles note and that’s about Irv Cross, a former Eagles great who passed away between my last column and this one. When I was a kid, I had the opportunity to attend the Eagles Fly for Leukemia golf tournament as it was played at a country club that bordered my house. I vividly remember getting an autograph from Irv Cross and having someone point out to me that “you see him on CBS each Sunday!” Cross passed away last week at age 81. The Hammond, Indiana native played for nine seasons in the NFL, but I’ll remember him as the first Black person to do TV sports reports in Philadelphia and as the first Black host of a network NFL pregame show. R.I.P. Mr. Cross.
Locally, please allow me a moment to acknowledge the outstanding career of Ocean City Girls Basketball Coach Paul Baruffi. The 56-year-old has announced that he is stepping down after 20 seasons with the Red Raiders. In his time, OC has won 429 games and lost just 129. That’s an incredible 300 wins above the .500 mark! His 429 wins rank third among the Cape Atlantic League coaches for the girls, trailing only Steve DiPatri of Wildwood Catholic and Dave Troiano, the recently retired coach from Wildwood. Baruffi has a 54-18 record in the NJSIAA Tournament. His teams won eight South Jersey championships, including last season, the most by any CAL girls coach. Plus, his last five teams played in South Jersey finals, winning four of them. Finally, a total of 11 of this teams reached the South Jersey championship game. Oh, and the 2013 team won a state championship, the only one in OCHS girls basketball history. Baruffi leaves after two great decades of basketball. Coach…you will be missed!
As always, I’ll close with entertainment as I am 3 or 4 episodes into the show “Clarice” on CBS. It’s based off the 1991 movie starring Jodie Foster as the TV show picks up in 1993 after the events surrounding “Buffalo Bill”. The description for the show is that “Clarice” offers a deep dive into the untold personal story of FBI Agent Clarice Starling as she returns to the field in 1993, one year after the events of “The Silence of the Lambs.” Brilliant and vulnerable, Clarice’s bravery gives her an inner light that draws monsters and madmen to her. However, her complex psychological makeup that comes from a challenging childhood empowers her to begin to find her voice while working in a man’s world, as well as escape the family secrets that have haunted her throughout her life. So far, it’s a great premise, but I’m not sure I’m going to be able to stick with it much longer.
What I will always turn to however, is “Inside the NBA” on TNT. No matter what my mood is, watching Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith, Charles Barkley and Shaquille O’Neal host that program is almost always TV gold. The folks at TNT began to shoot a docuseries last year to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the program, but then they got enough footage to air a four-part series around the All-Star break. If you didn’t see them, search them out on the web as they are awesome! Especially episode 3 called “The Entertainer” that features Charles Barkley. Each of the four episodes were great, but the Barkley one was the best in my opinion.
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!
