The Eagles are playing the Washington Commanders this week in their final game of the regular season, and at least on offense, the Eagles’ second team will be playing. This will include backup quarterback Tanner McKee, running back Tank Bigsby and wide receivers Jahan Dotson and Darius Cooper. I think this second team can beat the Washington Commanders. That is what they have to do to get the No. 2 seed in the playoffs along with the Detroit Lions beating the Chicago Bears in their game. Both the Eagles and Bears games start at the same time, 4:25 p.m., Sunday. The Commanders’ season has completely fallen apart because their starting quarterback Jayden Daniels has missed more than half of the season with two separate injuries. I hope the Eagles show up and bring a solid win.
Now that the holiday season is over, the rest of the baseball hot stove season is going to continue in full force. The Phillies first priority should be to decide whether they are they going to resign catcher JT Realmuto to another contract. I'll be surprised if lefty pitcher Ranger Suarez comes back to the Phillies. I think he’s going to get a big contract from another team. He has been a fun pitcher to watch over his career, because he proves you don’t have to throw the ball 95 to 100 mph all the time to be an effective pitcher in the league. I expect there to be more news reports next week concerning the Phillies.
The college football playoff is down to the final four. Two underdogs made it through, Old Miss and Miami. Miami beat the defending champion Ohio State 24-14 in the first quarterfinal, and then Indiana beat Alabama by the score of 38-3 in the Rose Bowl game. Oregon was able to shut out surprise contender Texas Tech 23-0, and Old Miss came back to defeat Georgia in the only extremely competitive game, by the score of 39-34. I will be cheering for either Old Miss or Indiana to win the national championship. The semifinals will be played next Thursday and Friday.
Over the holiday week, I was able to watch some of the high school basketball tournament at Cape Henlopen, including Cape winning their bracket of the tournament in a competitive game against Odessa High School. The game was pretty even all the way. Cape was able to pull off the win by three points. If they continue to play that well for the rest of the season, they will definitely make it into the state tournament in March. I will not predict anything past that, for fear of being a jinx.
I hope everyone enjoys the last week of the regular season in pro football. It starts on Saturday at 4:30 and goes through Sunday night. It’s incredible how fast the season flew by. And we are off to a new year. I hope it's a good one!
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A 2002 Cape grad and 2007 UD grad, Lewes resident Sumner Spence is one of the Cape area's biggest sports fans. Although he’s used a wheelchair his entire life, he has lived vicariously through his sports-playing father, brother, and friends, who gave him his love of sports. He hopes to provide new and interesting perspectives on the sports stories and issues of the day. Email Sumner at sumspence@gmail.com.
