By Pete Thompson
To me, baseball is the first sport you think about when you think about the summer, but this week, I want to write about more than just the “boys of summer” as I have some basketball news and even can bring hot dogs into the mix!
Since I last wrote, the Phillies have gone 4-3 without their star player Bryce Harper. However, they did lose another starting pitcher to injury. I got to see a win in-person and some fireworks too, but with the trade deadline less than a month away now, they definitely need to make some moves to upgrade their chances at a playoff spot. Summer basketball comes from the fact that some of the Sixers are about to begin in Summer League play. In hockey, the Flyers are under immense pressure to “get it right” in the NHL draft. Meanwhile, one Eagle is continuing to endear himself to the people by tending bar for charity in Sea Isle. On the local front, a youth baseball team is through to regionals once again. Also, a local high school track & field coach hangs up his whistle for a good reason.
Once again, I’ll begin with the Phillies as they have managed to go 4-3 since the injury to Bryce Harper. I was there in person last Sunday night as they beat St. Louis at home 4-0 to get within a game and a half of a NL Wildcard spot. Remember, this year, each league will have three wildcard spots.
A few observations about the 4-zip win I saw in person. First, it was a packed house as 44,225 people filled Citizens Bank Park for the Sunday Night Baseball game. Yes, it was a fireworks game, but that’s a lot of people in the ballpark and starter Zack Wheeler didn’t disappoint as he tossed seven scoreless innings to help save a depleted bullpen. Rhys Hoskins and J.T. Realmuto each delivered home runs against Cards starter Adam Wainwright and the Phillies very much looked like a playoff team in the win.
That said, after three at home with the lowly Washington Nationals, the Phillies go on the road to St. Louis for a four-game series next weekend, so they must keep on winning to make up ground.
Which won’t be easy as they’ve lost another starter to injury as before the game, lefty Ranger Suárez (low back spasms) joined fellow starter Zach Eflin (bruised right knee) on the injured list. Shortstop Didi Gregorius has a knee injury that won’t abate. Plus, Harper is out after having surgery on his left thumb. As I write this, the Phillies are 42-38 at basically the halfway point of the season. A lot can happen over the second half of the season, but they are most definitely not out of things as far as a playoff spot goes.
Speaking of Harper, my radio colleague Billy Schweim and I had an orthopedic hand surgeon on the radio with us on 97.3 ESPN to discuss the injury to Harper. According to Dr. Nathan Bodin from Virtua, he thinks Harper will need a pin in his thumb to stabilize things, and projects him to be out closer to 8 weeks. If Harper returns six weeks from his injury, the Phillies would have 50 games remaining. If he’s back in eight weeks, he could play in the final 36 games. Heal fast Bryce!
My last Phillies item concerns the August 2nd trade deadline. The Phillies have multiple areas of need — starting rotation depth, the bullpen, a left-handed hitter, so it’s somewhat hard to predict what area they will address first. But this much we do know for sure…across baseball, it’s shaping up to be a seller’s market. With the addition of a third wild card in each league, only 11 of the 30 teams were more than five games out of a playoff spot entering last week. Others may fall out of the race by month’s end. But any team that is within striking distance now likely will wait as long as possible before deciding whether to buy or sell at the deadline.
Moving on to basketball now and I have to start with the photo from over the weekend taken at Michael Rubin’s house in the Hamptons. The Fanatics CEO and former part-owner of the Sixers, holds an annual 4th of July “White Party” at his mansion each summer, and this year the Sixers were well represented as Joel Embiid, James Harden and their new teammate P.J. Tucker were there. So was guard Tyrese Maxey. But the photo that got everyone’s attention was the one of Embiid, Rubin, Donovan Mitchell and Maxey. Could Mitchell somehow wind up in Philadelphia?
It’s worth noting that not long ago, Mitchell was uncertain about his future with the Jazz following their premature exit from the postseason. The former lottery pick was also courtside in Philadelphia when the Sixers took on the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference semifinals. Last season for the Jazz, Mitchell posted averages of 25.9 PPG, 4.2 RPG, and 5.3 APG. The 25-year-old is also under contract for the next four years. Many Sixers fans have been fixated on Kevin Durant, but the Jazz guard seems to be back in their sights as a possible star trade. The picture at the Hamptons might mean nothing, or it might mean everything!
Of course, the veterans are partying in the Hamptons while the lesser known Sixers are heading to the NBA Summer League. The Sixers will play four games in Salt Lake City before moving on to Vegas for a stretch of games there. With six players who played in NBA games for the Sixers, their summer league roster has a chance to be very competitive. The 76ers’ roster is headlined by Charles Bassey, Isaiah Joe, Trevelin Queen, Paul Reed and Jaden Springer.
From the world of hockey, the Flyers are under some immense pressure right now to make a good pick on Thursday July 7th in the NHL Entry Draft. Five years after selecting Nolan Patrick with the #2 pick overall, they were forced to watch as Cale Makar from the Avalanche hoisted the Stanley Cup for Colorado. Makar went 4th overall that year, and the selection of Patrick continues to haunt the Flyers. They have the 5th overall pick in this year’s draft. It will be the fourth time since the turn of the century the Flyers have been in the top five and the sixth time they’ve picked in the top 10. They will be hoping to have better luck this time around.
In football, Eagles center Jason Kelce endeared himself to the fans once again by guest bartending at The Ocean Drive in Sea Isle, and this year he upped the ante by bringing along his brother, pro-bowl Tight End Travis Kelce from the Kansas City Chiefs. Jason Kelce appeared as a guest bartender to raise money for autism research, and once again the joint was packed in Sea Isle.
Eagles running back Boston Scott accurately summed up what Jason Kelce means to the city of Philadelphia last year when he said, “He’s the embodiment of this team. He’s the embodiment of, in my opinion, Philadelphia, man: gritty, nasty. You might knock him down, but he’s gonna get right back up. He’s gonna work hard, blue-collar. He embodies the city, man.” I wholeheartedly agree with Scott’s opinion on this one.
I almost forgot about the hot dogs, as once again Joey Chestnut won the annual Nathan’s 4th of July Hot Dog Eating Contest on Coney Island. Chestnut sealed his 15th Nathan’s championship on the 4th of July by scarfing down 63 hot dogs and buns in ten minutes. Even an injury couldn’t slow him down as Chestnut recently ruptured a tendon in his right leg, and that forced him to enter the competition on crutches and in a protective boot. Miki Sudo polished off 40 dogs and buns to take the women’s competition.
On the local front, a tip of the cap to the Atlantic Shore 13 U Babe Ruth Baseball Team as they once again are state champions. I was honored to do some public address work for their state tournament and will once again be on the mic for the Mid Atlantic Regionals starting next week. Atlantic Shore features players from Brigantine, Margate, Longport, Linwood, Northfield, Upper Twp, and Mullica.
ASHORE advances to the Mid-Atlantic Regional Tournament from July 14-20 in Ventnor, with the winning team advancing to the 13U Babe Ruth World Series in Glen Allen, VA on Aug 10-20. The Atlantic Shore 13’s have established a strong tradition and program, winning state titles in 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2021, and now 2022. The program has been to three World Series and captured the National Championship last season in Jamestown, NY.
This year’s team features: Ryan Bradly (Linwood), Jack Murray (Brigantine), Frank Steelman (Upper Twp), Kam Street (Brigantine), Dante Zappala (Northfield), Brayden Simon (Linwood), Brendan Mooney (Margate), Cole Stefano (Northfield), Dante Franchini (Linwood), Frank Holton (Longport), Jack Fellows (Upper Twp), Jayson Harrison (Mullica), Joe Heng (Ocean City), Mike Sher (Northfield) and Tyler Buccafurni (Northfield). The coaches are: Don Myers, Steve Myers, Frank Curtin, Rocky Lacavara, and manager Mike Gill. Keep it going boys!
Lastly, I want to acknowledge EHT Boys Track & Field coach Ryan Smith, who is stepping down from that role after 12 seasons. He took over for his mentor George Wilkinson in 2011, and all he did was continue the great tradition of success with EHT Boys Track & Field. In his goodbye announcement, Smith wrote that there have been 226 seniors who have graduated from the program and 40 of those continued their track & field careers in college, along with many more who went on to be great people and great members of society as a whole. Props to you “Smitty” for doing it right, and I hope you get the time to be a full-time Dad, husband and youth coach to your own children. All the best.
I’ll close with my usual thanks and let you know that I am 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 5:00pm, and if you see him out & about in the community, he requests that you please say “Hi”. Send comments to PBrooksT@aol.com
