Sports & Entertainment
By Pete Thompson
As I write this, the final major of the professional golf season is in the books. Ever since my Uncle Henry was kind enough to invite me on golfing trips to Scotland (1998) and Ireland (2002), I always look forward to what most Americans refer to as the “British Open.” The folks in Scotland and the U.K. have that stiff upper lip you know, so they prefer to call it “The Open Championship,” but either way, after a one year absence, it was great to finally wake up early and watch some links-style golf from Royal St. George’s in Sandwich, England.
Since I last wrote, the Flyers made a major trade in advance of the NHL expansion draft. They also hired a new assistant coach as well. The Phillies continue to pick up series wins, and are almost forcing the team to be “buyers” at the trade deadline rather than “sellers.” Plus, they signed their top draft pick pretty quickly. A Sixers is a quarter of a century old, but no one seems to want to get him a birthday cake! The Eagles are now less than a week away from the start of their training camp. Finally, on the local front, I continue to put the peg in the ground and hit up some local golf courses as part of an upcoming feature here in Shore Local.
From entertainment, I joined a crowd of about 800 others to watch a big-time comedian perform. Plus, my girlfriend and I checked out a new crime drama on Peacock network that you MUST watch if you can. As always though, we begin with sports, and my thoughts:
This week I’ll start with the Flyers for once as they really stole the headlines last weekend when they traded for All-Star defenseman Ryan Ellis from Nashville. Ellis is a 10-year veteran and one of the NHL’s more skilled and reliable defensemen. The Flyers traded two players who were once thought to be cornerstones to get him as they say goodbye to Nolan Patrick and Phil Myers.
First, a word about Ellis, as this is the established blue-liner that the Flyers were missing all last season when Matt Niskanen unexpectedly retired. Ellis is a right-handed shot too, so he will instantly go on the top pairing with Ivan Provorov and should provide immediate help. Over a ten-year career, the 30-year-old Ellis has scored 75 goals and is known as an “offensive-minded” defenseman. He should pair perfectly with Provorov, who is a prototypical “stay-at-home” defender. Plus, Ellis is only two-years in to an eight-year extension he signed with Nashville, so he won’t be a free agent until 2027, and has a reasonable cap hit of $6.25 million.
My only concern is about his health. Ellis only played in 35 games last season because of a shoulder issue and he is 30-years-old. However, to me, this was EXACTLY the first step of what hopefully are more by Chuck Fletcher to fix some of the Flyers problems and give Alain Vigneault the players he needs to win on a nightly basis.
Now to the players they gave up, starting with Nolan Patrick. He was the #2 overall pick in the 2017 draft, hampered by migraines and post-concussion effects, still just 22, he has yet to fulfill the expectations that accompanied his entrance to the NHL. After managing just 61 points over 145 games in his first two seasons with the Flyers, Patrick missed the entire ’19-20 season, only to score just four goals in 52 games in ’20-21. Upon acquiring Patrick, the Predators immediately traded him to the Vegas Golden Knights for center Cody Glass, who was the No. 6 pick in that 2017 draft.
And that to me speaks VOLUMES about Patrick’s value. Immensely talented, yet so far, talent unfulfilled. Good on Fletcher and the Flyers for getting some value for him and moving on from what appears to be a disappointing pick.
Now, as far as Phil Myers goes, the 24-year-old looked like a rising star by the end of the ’19-20 season…and remember, he was signed as an undrafted free agent in 2015…but he took a major step backward last season, when he was only able to score one goal in 44 games and was a minus-10 with his play on the ice. If I was giving a grade to this trade, I’d give it an “A-minus”, with the only thing keeping it from being higher is concerns about the health of Ellis and his age. Fingers crossed!
Behind the bench, Darryl Williams joins the coaching staff now that Ian Laperriere has moved to become the head coach of the AHL Lehigh Valley Phantoms. Williams, 53, has a long history with Alain Vigneault. He has spent 10 years as an NHL assistant, including nine under Vigneault — five with Vancouver and four with the New York Rangers.
And one last Flyers item as the NHL expansion draft is all set for Wednesday July 21st. The Flyers, somewhat surprisingly, left winger James Van Reimsdyk unprotected. The other exposed names include Shayne Gostisbehere, Jake Voracek, Justin Braun and Robert Hagg. One of those five guys will become a member of the new NHL franchise, the Seattle Kraken. My money is on “Ghost”, but perhaps that’s wishful thinking! By the time I write next week, we all will know more.
So, let’s move on to baseball then, as the Phillies have certainly played their way into “buyers” and not “sellers” as the July 30th trade deadline fast approaches. Let’s start with the good, as the Phillies have won 10 of their last 13 as I write this, and won both games against the Marlins last Sunday to take their 3rd consecutive series win of 3 or more games for the first time since 2019.
As I write this, the Phillies are just two games back of the first-place Mets in the N.L. East, and appear to have as good a chance as anyone to win the division. Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski has told NBC’s John Clark that the team will not be “sellers” at the deadline. However, here comes the bad.
Just exactly what do the Phillies have to offer other teams as they are hoping to acquire a late-inning reliever, or a back-end starting pitcher, or even Marlins centerfielder Starling Marte? After nine years without reaching the playoffs, the Phillies are intently watching as the Mets had to put star shortstop Francisco Lindor and best in baseball ace Jacob DeGrom on the injured list last weekend. So, you could say that the N.L. East is “there for the taking.”
Like most playoff contenders, they could use another late-inning reliever. A back-end starting pitcher (Cole Hamels?) would come in handy. The Marlins are reportedly bracing to trade Starling Marte, who would look good in center field and atop the Phillies’ batting order. However, getting any of those things means giving up something, and the Phillies don’t have much trade capital. Last month, Bryce Harper accurately described the farm system as “kind of depleted,” and the payroll is only about $7 million shy of the $210 million luxury-tax threshold. Stay tuned on this one folks!
One last Phillies item as the club quickly signed top pick Andrew Painter to a contract. Painter was the 13th overall selection by the Phillies in the 2021 MLB Draft and is the second consecutive high school pitcher drafted by the Phillies in the first round, joining Mick Abel from 2020. The club also signed 10 other selections from the draft as hopefully these “future” Phillies don’t take too long to work their way through the system and join the big league club.
By the time you read this, Sixers standout Ben Simmons will have turned 25-years-old as his birthday is on July 20th. What do you get for the man who has everything, including a problem with shooting a basketball? Hopefully this item makes you chuckle!
From football, the Eagles are exactly ONE week away from reporting to training camp at the NovaCare Complex. Their first official training camp practice will be on Wednesday, July 28th and their first preseason game (there are only TWO) is Thursday August 12th at home against the Steelers. Before that game takes place, there are two big things to note. One, is that Harold Carmichael finally gets to go into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio on Saturday, August 7th. As a lifelong Eagles fan and someone who knows Carmichael casually, I’m THRILLED for the big guy. Two, is that the Eagles are only going to hold TWO public practices during training camp, and the first of those is on Sunday August 8th. You have to buy tickets for this and the one on August 22nd. For more information, go to the official webpage for the event at: https://www.philadelphiaeagles.com/publicpractice/
In golf, as I mentioned at the top of the column, “the Championship Golfer of the Year” is….Collin Morikawa. Each July, I’m usually “all-in” for what is now the final championship of the golfing year. I just love the fact that I can wake up early and watch golf from “across the pond”, and then go play 9-holes if I want to. Remember, the Open Championship (or as we call it “The British Open”) was the only major not played in 2020.
Major props to the 24-year-old Morikawa as he closed with a bogey-free, 4-under 66 at Royal St. George’s and won The Open in his debut last Sunday, becoming the first player to capture two different majors on the first attempt. I felt bad that Phil Mickelson couldn’t make the weekend. I was rooting for Jordan Spieth to win a second Claret Jug. However, I especially felt bad for Louis Oosthizen, who once again wilted under final round pressure. He was runner-up this year at the PGA Championship and the U.S. Open, two of his six second-place finishes at majors. In the end, Morikawa is now halfway to the career grand slam, and again, he’s only 24-years-old!
Locally, I am continuing to tee it up quite a bit lately as after I wrote last week, I played another 9 holes with Sean Fawcett at Pinelands Golf Club in Hammonton. This was my first trip to the course and I found the 18-hole track nestled on the outskirts of Wharton State Forest to be quite enjoyable! Listen, if you haven’t played there, or haven’t been there in years, it’s time to go back and check it out. The DiDonato Family purchased the course last year and hired renowned local architect Stephen Kay to renovate and return the course to its original authentic design. Book a tee time at www.pinelandsgolfclub.com
As always, I’ll close with a few items from entertainment as my girlfriend’s son Michael and I were part of a big audience at the Borgata Event Center last Saturday night to see comedian Bert Kreischer perform as part of his “Berty Boy Relapse Tour.” We hit the early show, and it was Kreischer’s first appearance on stage in front of a big audience since the pandemic, so we got a lot of NEW material and jokes. The two warm-up comics were hilarious as well, yes, Kreischer closed with his “machine” story, which if you’ve never heard it, is worth the price of admission alone.
Lastly, my girlfriend Susan and I stumbled across the American crime drama miniseries “Dr. Death” on Peacock network and quickly watched all eight episodes over a two day period. Loosely based on the real-life story of Dr. Christopher Duntsch, the premise for the series is this. “An arrogant, sinister doctor treats his Hippocratic Oath about the same way he treats his patients. As his malignant narcissism and sociopathy (antisocial personality disorder) escalates, his fellow surgeons and a young assistant district attorney set out to stop him.” Actor Joshua Jackson is excellent in the lead role, and major supporting actors Alec Baldwin and Christian Slater are outstanding as well. Morgan Streep’s daughter Grace Gummer is phenomenal as troubled physician’s assistant Kim Morgan, while AnnaSophia Robb is really good too. My one complaint is that even though Peacock is a streaming service, they still put too many commercials in there for my liking. But hey, that’s the name of the game these days, right? If you like crime dramas, this one is a MUST watch!
I’ll close by letting you know that I’m headed on vacation to Omaha, Nebraska, so next week I’ll write from there. It’s my first trip on a plane and outside the Delaware Valley since the pandemic, so fingers crossed that I stay safe and healthy! This variant talk concerns and I hope you all are being safe and healthy as well. As always, I hope you’re all having an awesome summer and am thankful for your readership!
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
