Sports & Entertainment
By Pete Thompson
Did you watch the Super Bowl? I’m writing this as reports are coming out that “only” 96.4 million viewers watched Super Bowl LV on CBS. That’s down from the roughly 102 million that watched the previous year, and there are a variety of reasons why people think the numbers are down. Some think the matchup of Tom Brady and his Bucs vs. Patrick Mahomes and his Chiefs only appealed to Tampa, KC, and apparently Boston. Others think because a lot of the major advertisers held off, that led to lower ratings.
Did you know that the 1982 game remains the highest-rated Super Bowl broadcast ever with a 49.1 household rating? Also, Super Bowl XLIX in 2015 was the most watched ever, with over 114.4 million people.
Hey, if even ONE million people read this column, I bet the folks at SHORE LOCAL would hire me for LIFE…!!!
Down to business now, as since I last wrote, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have won the Super Bowl, cementing Tom Brady’s legacy as the GOAT. The Eagles appear to be on the verge of trading away their once-franchise QB Carson Wentz. The Sixers are off to a 17-7 start to the season. As of this writing, that’s the best in the Eastern Conference and there’s no question that the head coach has something to do with that. The Flyers are in the news as COVID-19 is starting to influence their schedule and their roster. Finally, the Phillies load up the equipment truck and head for Clearwater. Plus, they keep adding arms to the bullpen and the possible rotation. On the local level, area high school winter sports seem to be working so far. Plus, I sadly had to say goodbye to a college basketball coaching legend who I was lucky enough to have a personal connection with.
From the entertainment world, which Super Bowl ads did you like? Or dislike? Also, did you happen to catch the first official trailer for the new M. Night Shyamalan movie? As always though, we begin with sports, and my thoughts:
Let’s begin with the Super Bowl as I thought the game was a dud. All that hype about Tom Brady & Patrick Mahomes, and it turned out to be a 31-9 Tampa win. The Chiefs could only manage three field goals, and there were zero points scored in the entire fourth quarter! That said, if you like defense, you had to respect what the Bucs did. Also, I thought Mahomes was incredible for his ability to extend plays and do everything he could to will KC to a victory. Remember, two of his passes hit the receiver in the face in the end-zone and were dropped!
I was happy to see Tampa win for several reasons, but the most prominent was the sheer number of former Temple Owls that are with the Bucs. Head coach Bruce Arians coached and worked on North Broad Street. Todd Bowles, the defensive coordinator for Tampa, played at Temple for Arians. In fact, there were a whopping EIGHT coaches on Tampa’s staff that would make them qualify for Temple “South”. Hat tip to Assistant Defensive Line coach Lori Locust as she was one of TWO women on Tampa’s staff to win a Super Bowl. Remember, you can’t spell Super Bowl without “OWL!”
My last item on the Super Bowl is about the broadcast of the game. There were reportedly 120 cameras in use by CBS for the big game, and yet NONE of them managed to show us the shot of Bruce Arians getting drenched with Gatorade? C’mon CBS, that’s a violation on your part! In my house, we bet on what color the liquid is, and had to go to social media to find out the answer. (Blue). I bet Red, but for the record, the most popular color over the years has been orange, so if you’re betting this one down the road, go with Orange!
Now to the Philadelphia Eagles, as word began to trickle out just prior to the Super Bowl that the Birds would listen to trade offers for Carson Wentz and a move was expected soon. Wait…what…??? Let me get this straight. The Eagles go 4-11-1, fire Doug Pederson, and Wentz STILL wants out…? Man, oh man, he could go down as one of the biggest villains in Philadelphia sports history! Let’s see what happens between my writing this column and the next one.
The Colts and the Bears are being listed as two likely landing spots for Wentz. One report had Chicago sending back Nick Foles to Philly along with another player and draft picks. Wouldn’t that be wild? The QB that won Super Bowl LII is traded back to Philly for the QB that couldn’t play in that game!
Okay, enough football for now, let’s move on to basketball where the Sixers are off to a 17-7 to the start to the NBA season. That’s tops in the Eastern Conference and I am in the camp that there are TWO big reasons for that record. One, is Joel Embiid. The big fella has rededicated himself to basketball and simply is playing like an MVP. The second big reason they are so good, is the arrival of Doc Rivers as head coach. Hey, I was probably one of the biggest Brett Brown fans out there. I still am. But there’s no question the Sixers close out games better and play better as a team under Rivers so far.
In hockey, I think I’ve made my passion for the puck pretty clear. So, color me disappointed that the Flyers season has to be put on hold for a few games because of COVID-19 protocols. The latest, as of this writing, is that the Flyers-Capitals game on 2-9-21 is postponed. Defenseman Travis Sanheim was put on the COVID-19 protocol list on Super Bowl Sunday after practicing fully with the team the day before. Remember, being placed on the protocol list doesn’t automatically mean a positive test. Another Flyer was then added to the list on Tuesday, forcing the postponement. The Flyers (8-3-2) already had games on Thursday and Saturday against visiting New Jersey wiped out because of an outbreak among Devils players. Same thing for Washington, which was to play Buffalo on Thursday and Saturday, as well. Stay tuned for this developing story as the NHL scrambles to keep the games and the season going.
Wow, talk about timing, just as I’m writing about hockey, I get a text message that Ron Hextall is the new GM of the Pittsburgh Penguins. I mean, I have mixed reactions to this. I’m happy for Hexy that he gets another shot to be a GM in the NHL, but of all the teams he could go to, it’s the arch-rival Penguins? Ugh. Pittsburgh is 5-5-1 as of the writing of this column, but with Hextall on board, and 65-year-old Brian Burke assuming the new President of Hockey Operations role, I begrudgingly have to admit the Penguins scored a “1-2 punch” in those hires I think.
To baseball next, as normally I’d be able to write with 100% certainty when Phillies pitchers & catchers are going to report to Spring Training in Clearwater, Florida. This year, all I see is TBA up and down the list as teams still haven’t pinned down exact start dates for the Grapefruit League or Cactus League. One thing I do know is that as you are reading this, the Phillies equipment truck has left Citizens Bank Park and is headed South for Florida.
According to the official Phillies press release, items include face coverings and plenty of sanitizer for players and front office staff, as well as 10,000 Powerade cups; 2,400 baseballs; 2,000 short and long sleeve shirts; 1,200 bats; 900 socks; 600 pairs of pants; 600 batting practice hats; 350 pairs of shorts; 300 batting gloves; 250 batting practice tops; 200 fleeces; 200 light jackets; 140 batting helmets; 125 leather and elastic belts; 75 pairs of assorted spike, plastic and turf shoes; 40 heavy jackets; 20 coolers and a half pallet of POWERADE mix; and several bikes.
Locally, I have had the privilege to attend two area high school basketball games during this winter sports season. But, full disclosure, I was only able to do so because I kept the scorebook for both of those games. Fans are not allowed inside the gym yet, and I know that’s frustrating a lot of local parents, families and loved ones. My recommendation is to find out if your school or team is live-streaming the games, and tune in there. Hey, it’s not ideal, but at least it’s something!
My last sports item is about Coach John Chaney. I’m a Temple University alum, and I began school there in the Fall of 1989. Just two years before that, the basketball team went 32-2 and was the #1 team in the country for a period of time. I spent all four of my years at Temple covering Coach for both The Temple News as well as WRTI-FM radio. Now, I never woke up early enough to attend one of his 5:30 a.m. practices, but I sure do treasure all the times and interaction I had with the man. Coach Chaney passed away at the age of 89 on Friday January 29th. “Winning is an Attitude” he famously once said. R.I.P. Coach. Thanks for all the great memories and interactions we had.
I’ll close with entertainment and for me, that means all the Super Bowl ads. Which ones did you like? Which ones did you dislike? Can anyone tell me why it looked like the people on the field for the halftime show were wearing jock straps on their heads?
I liked the Cadillac commercial that updated the 1990 movie “Edward Scissorhands”. They enlisted “Call Me By Your Name” actor Timothée Chalamet to portray Edward Scissorhand’s son Edgar, enjoying the Cadillac Lyriq’s hands-free “Super Cruise” technology. Winona Ryder revisited her role in the classic 1990 movie as his mother.
You can put me down for enjoying Dan Levy in the M&M’s commercial and I even chuckled at Amazon’s Alexa ad featuring actor Michael B. Jordan. Now, I love Bruce Springsteen, but c’mon Bruce, what was that Jeep commercial all about? I honestly thought his ad about “meeting in the middle” was a political spot until the Jeep logo appeared on the screen.
My favorite commercial was the one I wrote about last column. My niece Connie was in the :15 second spot for Mercari. She was the girl on the couch with her dog in her lap. I’m still thrilled for her!
In the first commercial break once they actually kicked off the game, there was a trailer for the upcoming M. Night Shyamalan movie “OLD”. Based on the graphic novel “Sandcastle”, the story looks good as it’s a psychological thriller about a family on a tropical holiday who discover that the secluded beach where they are relaxing for a few hours is somehow causing them to age rapidly … reducing their entire lives into a single day. My favorite part about this plot and this movie is that, for now, they’re saying “ONLY IN THEATERS”. The movie is scheduled to be released on July 23rd by Universal Pictures. Here’s hoping I’ll be at Tilton Square Theater in Northfield on opening night with my popcorn!
Which leads me to a reminder to keep wearing those masks and stay socially distant please! Vaccines are now being given out in New Jersey with more people getting vaccinated every day. I’ve signed up at covid19.nj.gov and urge you to do the same. Hopefully “normal” is coming soon in 2021!
