The World Series matchup this year is the defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers against the Toronto Blue Jays. Unfortunately for Phillies fans, for at least the first two games, they will repeatedly see the video of Joe Carter's walk-off home run in 1993 World Series. That is because that is the last time the Blue Jays were in the fall classic. If something like that happens again, it will be one of the biggest upsets in World Series history.
The Dodgers are going to be a huge favorite to go back-to-back for the first time in 25 years since the 1998-2000 Yankees won three years in a row. The Dodgers have an overwhelming starting rotation, including Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow, Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and a strong hitting lineup as well. This will be hard to beat. So it's probably no real surprise that I am picking the Dodgers in five games.
Congratulations go out to Cape graduate Mason Fluharty, fresh from the minors, who’s now pitching out of the bullpen for the Blue Jays! I hope he gets to pitch in the World Series at some point.
The Eagles played their best game of the season last week against the Minnesota Vikings, claiming a win on the road. The passing offense carried the team. AJ Brown and DeVonta Smith both had very productive games. Quarterback Jalen Hurts had his best game since the Super Bowl. He had a perfect quarterback rating which includes a very confusing series of statistics. I hope the coaching staff can calm down AJ Brown! For some reason, he continues to complain, even though he was a big reason they won the game this week.
The Eagles play the New York Giants this Sunday. This will be a revenge game for the whole team since they played so badly in that Thursday night game two weeks ago. Defensive end Brandon Graham is coming out of retirement to help the struggling defensive line get more pressure on the quarterback. I don’t know if he’s going to play in this game against the Giants or wait until after the bye week against the Green Bay Packers.
The NBA regular season has begun. It’s going to be a lot more exciting than last year to be a 76ers fan. You have Tyrese Maxey back at full strength, and the No. 3 pick VJ Edgecombe scored 34 points in his rookie debut in the win over the Boston Celtics last night.
The Eastern Conference is up for grabs because of significant injuries to the Indiana Pacers’ best player Tyrese Haliburton and the best player on the Boston Celtics Jayson Tatum as well. I’m still nervous about Joel Embiid's status because he seems very rusty and timid to play in the paint. He didn’t seem to want to run as fast as possible either, possibly worrying about reinjuring his knee. This was only the first game of 82 in the regular season so he may be a bit uneasy. I hope he is really up to the challenge.
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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.
