On Sunday, the Philadelphia Eagles held on to beat the Detroit Lions by the score 38-35. The final score should not have been that close. In the second and third quarter, the Eagles were pulling away from the Lions, but then they must’ve gotten tired because the Lions came roaring back to make it a game. AJ Brown had a great debut performance as an Eagle. He set a record for the number of yards gained in his first game as an Eagle at 155. Let’s hope he can continue this good play against the Minnesota Vikings on Monday Night Football. Quarterback Jalen Hurts also had a successful game as well, but I don’t think he can continue to run as much as he did in the first game and last the entire season of 17 games without getting hurt at some point. He needs to stay in the pocket more to protect himself. The defense needs to play the entire game, especially against the Vikings’ offense that crushed the Green Bay Packers last week.
The Phillies only have 20 games left in the regular season. They are currently in the second wild card position, 2.5 games ahead of the San Diego Padres and 4.5 games ahead of the Milwaukee Brewers for the third position. If they continue to play well, they will break their 11-year drought of making the playoffs. Sadly, both the Braves and Mets seem to still have the Phillies’ number when they play each other, and that’s who they will most likely see in the playoffs. They will just have to keep playing strong.
The U.S. Open tennis tournament has ended. Carlos Alcaraz from Spain won his first major tournament at the age of 19. In his last four matches, he played a total of 19 sets (three five setters and a four) over many hours. In the match to win the championship, he beat Casper Ruud, 23, of Norway. If Alcaraz can stay healthy, he’s going to win a lot of major championships. He is the youngest U.S. Open champion since Pete Sampras in 1990! For the women, 21-year-old Iga Swiatek from Poland, the No. 1 player in the world, won her third major championship. She beat Ons Jabeur from Tunisia in the finals.
In other news, Roger Federer announced his retirement from competitive tennis. This is not surprising because he has been struggling with injuries for the last two years. He was one of my all-time favorite players to watch, but his announcement was somewhat expected.
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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.
