Glaser goes from history class to hero
Danielle Glaser heard about girls wrestling being a thing in the Lehigh Valley, but she wanted no part of competing against boys.
The freshman then heard history teacher Joe Provini’s pitch in class about girls wrestling being sanctioned by the PIAA, the state’s governing body for sports, and Northampton starting a girls program this season.
Glaser was intrigued. She tried to convince her friends to join the team with her. They all passed.
Perhaps Wednesday night’s dual meet with visiting Nazareth will change their minds.
Glaser unknowingly played the role of hero, getting a pin in 3 minutes, 43 seconds to secure Northampton’s 33-30 victory at Pete Schneider Gym.
“I didn’t know my match was going to decide everything,” she said. “I was a little nervous. I get nervous before matches. I wrestled her before, but I was not sure how it would go. I was just excited to do my best.”
Glaser’s pin capped off an intense match between rival schools. Nazareth won four of the first six matches, three of which were decided by close decisions.
After a few forfeits, Nazareth led 30-27 entering the 235-pound finale.
Glaser, who pinned Nazareth’s Brianna Gold at last week’s Tony Iasiello Memorial Christmas City Classic, scored an early takedown to grab a 2-0 lead. But it took until late in the second period to put Gold on her back.
“I could hear the crowd,” Glaser said. “But it’s hard to really hear what they are saying. I sometimes have to look over to my coaches to hear them. It can be overwhelming.”
Glaser liked enough of what she heard from Provini in history class earlier this school year to give wrestling a try, even though her friends opted not to.
She followed through after attending an informational meeting with other perspective wrestlers. She showed up the first day of practice and has not regretted it.
“It sounded interesting, and I watched friends do it when I was younger,” she said. “It’s been amazing, super fun. I’ve gotten to meet people and bond with them, which is super amazing. Everyone is cheering everyone else on.”
Glaser’s father, Jonathan, has been supportive of her new venture and impressed that she followed through on her plan.
“He said he was proud of me
In a business where brain trauma and pulverized knees are fixed costs, there is no logic in the lifetime contract, or even the double-figure year variety John Middleton poured on Bryce Harper and Trea Turner across the street. So Lurie gave it until Hurts was 29, at which time there would be a verdict. Either the quarterback was going to deliver that second Lombardi ornament with a combination of valuable holdovers from the championship team and Howie Roseman’s draft-day card tricks, or he was going to be the next C. James Wentz and prove to be a false promise.
At the time, no one disputed Lurie’s decision. Hurts was the runner-up for MVP, was probably a full possession away from becoming a Super Bowl legend, was known to lead on the field and in the room, was in no way embarrassing to his franchise or his profession and knew exactly what to say before rushing off to meet his financial advisor.
“Money is nice,” he proclaimed. “Championships are better.”
There was that plural noun again. But in that context, it was well placed. The Eagles had their quarterback, the quarterback had his money, and together they had that opportunity.
Some questions, though, even if belated: What if they were wrong? And given that the Eagles are deep into a Super Bowl encore season, have lost four of their last five, have a coach on the fringe of hot-seat rumors and a fan base a little sideways, what if their “championships” moon-roof has already clamped shut?
What if that offensive line – Jason Kelce is 36 and always hinting at retiring to the shore, Lane Johnson is 33 with a history of physical trauma who succeeds mostly by beginning plays a millisecond early – has hit its expiration date? What if Sirianni cannot find a way to target A.J. Brown often enough to keep him from the occasional sideline tantrum? What if a defense that is so broken that Sirianni dialed up an in-season coordinator change, never recovers? Isn’t Brandon Graham 35? Aren’t Fletcher Cox and Darius Slay 33? Isn’t it a virtual certainty that none will be around when that Hurts contract has begun to yellow?
And one more question: How likely would it be that Hurts would be 11-5 this season without his expertise at the tush push, a football maneuver likely to soon be banned?
Excellent as he has been, Hurts will not be a strong MVP candidate – and any player who, even for a short time, was the highest-paid in football history should at least be in that conversation. He knows that. Indeed, he barely has stopped vowing to keep improving since Week 1.
“When you’re supposed to win, you should win,” he said after the Sunday loss to Arizona. “If you don’t do that, if you’re not winning, then maybe you’re not executing at a high enough level. It’s just a moment of reflection; a moment of reflection. We still have everything in front of us to learn from everything that’s going on as a team and put the right energy towards it and towards the things that we can control and being the best team we can be. It is something we have to grow from.”
There’s about 50 hours left in an 18-week season and a quarterback said to be fully ready “for the present.” It’s already late.
6 Birds make Pro Bowl
Six Eagles were voted to the Pro Bowl, a respectable number for a struggling ballclub that got off to a hot start.
Five of the six Eagles to earn honors were on the offensive side, including wide receiver A.J. Brown, running back D’Andre Swift, center Jason Kelce, guard Landon Dickerson and right tackle Lane Johnson.
Edge rusher Haason Reddick was the only Eagles defender voted in.
It’s the seventh Pro Bowl for Kelce, the fifth for Johnson, No. 3 for Brown and the second for both Dickerson and Reddick. Swift got his first Pro Bowl bid.
Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts and kicker Jake Elliott are first alternates, return specialist Britain Covey and defensive end Josh Sweat are second alternates and offensive tackle Jordan Mailata is a third alternate.