Tag Archives: fiction

05.22.26
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The best $20 you will ever spend

As a big fan of the local Philadelphia comedian Joe Conklin, saw that he was appearing at one of my favorite venues, the Keswick Theater, on a rare night I had off in my “real job” and then clicked on the price.

That was $118 for a single seat.

Yikes.

Love Joe, but that was a little bit above my pay grade.

(Decided to rent a $5.99 movie that night instead.)

Then saw Joe was appearing at Parx Casino on the penultimate night of my birthday (June 18 as June 19 is the day I came into the world) at Parx Casino for $35. Clicked on that and got tickets.

Same show. Saved almost $100.

Pretty good bargain if you like to laugh and hear Philadelphia sports personality impressions as much as I do.

I’m pretty sure this is June 1 but might want to confirm when you get tickets.

If you are a Temple football fan, a better bargain becomes before that night.

K.C. Keeler, Wissahickon Brewing Company, June 1, for a measly $20.

Make plans to attend now if you are able to fit it into your schedule.

Unfortunately, I won’t be able to do so because that’s a Monday night and my “real job” requires me to be in the office doing editing for a myriad of weekly papers that will appear on Wednesdays throughout the Philadelphia area.

Who knows how long that will last so that’s why we ask those of you who appreciate this site to donate $5, 10, 50 or 100 from time to time.

So this is pretty much for those who work traditional 9-5 jobs.

K.C. Keeler isn’t as funny as Joe Conklin, but he is pretty funny and provides more insight on Temple football than just about anyone else.

If I didn’t have to work that night to put food on the table, I would definitely be there and ask him at least one of the next five questions:

Sekou Kromah was good enough to take to media day. Will Keeler take another pass rusher to the same event in August?

One, I know he was going for an experienced quarterback to replace Evan Simon, but what qualities did he see in inexperienced guys like Jaxon Smolik and Ajani Sheppard that would give him the confidence to make them the starter?

Two, I know what Hunter Smith and Keveon Mason can do as running backs, but is there another guy (along with Rutgers transfer Sam Brown) who can emerge from that deep room and surprise everyone?

Three, we had a damn good pass rush when Khalil Poteat, Sultan Badmus and Sekou Kromah were healthy–which was exactly one game, the UTSA win–so what do you see in the transfer portal replacements that make that pass rush better?

It took 15 years but we finally got to our 150th country today, May, 22, 2026

Four, one-point losses to Army and Navy robbed the Owls of 7-5 and a sure bowl appearance and, what, if anything, will you do different in preparing for both triple options this year?

Five, what, if anything, did you learn from the Owls telling the Birmingham Bowl that you had to think for an hour or two about the invitation and what, if anything, would the university do differently given the same call next season?

Thanks, K.C., and I wish I was there, but Joe Conklin is appearing on my night off and you are not. I will see you at the season ticket holder party in August.

Monday: Get Ready for An Attitude

03.26.26
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Saboor Karriem: Temple football’s spring sensation

This is the type of guy Temple would have never had a chance to recruit in the pre-portal era.

Shockingly, there is a flip side of the portal.

Not enough to overcome the other side, which is really bad, but enough to open some eyes.

Flip side, meet Saboor Karriem.

Saboor Karriem kicked USC’s ass last year with 10 tackles (7 solos) in a win over the No. 21-ranked team in the country. Maybe he can do the same to Matt Campbell’s first Penn State team.\

Remember that name. It’s pronounced SUH BOR KUH REEM and he’s going to make a lot of plays on the field for the 2026 Temple Owls.

Our motto on this website has always been and always will be judge players not by their potential but by what they have done.

That’s why we’re not big fans of the current quarterback room but are big fans of the running back room, offensive line and wide receiver room.

Now add at least one safety to that equation.

Karriem wowed the camp with at least one interception where he flew airborne, caught the ball, and landed with both feet inbounds closing on a ball he had no business getting to in the first place. That’s athleticism personified. A tremendously athletic play a Big 10 impact player would make and maybe not someone even an American Conference stalwart could do.

Karriem is the sensation of spring camp which started three weeks ago. On the day after he had that interception, he locked down an exceptional Temple wide receiver group.

He’s pretty much done the same thing all spring from a safety position.

As good as Karriem is, OwlsDaily.com’s Shawn Pastor has him listed as No. 2 on his mock safety depth chart behind last year’s starter, Avery Powell. That’s a good thing, not a bad one. Powell was game captain against Charlotte (a 48-14 win), intercepted Owen McCown in a 27-21 win over UTSA and tied for first in the nation (not the conference) in three fumbles recovered.

Something tells me a coach as accomplished as K.C. Keeler might find a way to get both on the field at the same time for Temple.

While Powell might have been the kind of guy Temple got in the past, Karriem is not and maybe that kind of talent infusion will make a difference.

Hell, we hope so.

Monday: Temple’s Kyle Schwarber

02.16.26
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Tribute to a couple of loyal Temple football Owls

When he had a choice of representing Temple or Washington, Tre always picked the Owls.

They say no news is good news so it shouldn’t be surprising when there is news on a couple of Owls, it wasn’t good.

First and most important, Tre Johnson–a great offensive lineman from the Jerry Berndt/Ron Dickerson Era–passed away suddenly on a family trip at the all-too-young age of 54.

No cause of death and it’s none of our business but it’s incredibly sad when someone that young passes.

Second and less important was the fact that Shaun Bradley hung up the cleats after five years in the NFL as a linebacker and special teams player. Ironically, Bradley wore number 54 with the Philadelphia Eagles and No. 23 at Temple before being awarded a single digit (5) before his junior season.

Both had something in common in that they spent their entire college careers as Temple Owls, something that will be less and less common as the years go on, unfortunately.

Both were leaders.

Johnson was drafted No. 31 overall–that would make him a first-round pick today–in 1994 but, then, it was high second-round. The pick turned out to be a good one for the then Washington Redskin as he made the pro bowl in 1999. Johnson actually spanned three eras as he was in the last recruiting class of Bruce Arians and played three years for Berndt and finished up with Dickerson.

Bradley was a sixth-round pick of the hometown Philadelphia Eagles and was one of the best special team players as a rookie.

In 2019, Bradley help bridge the transition between Geoff Collins and Rod Carey and was captain of the team in his senior year. The Owls won seven games in Shaun’s junior year and eight games in his senior season and Carey gave him credit for keeping the team together after Collins left for Georgia Tech.

Bradley had two key stops in a goal-line stand in a 20-17 win over 21st-ranked Maryland, which beat No. 23-ranked Syracuse, 56-21, the week before they lost to the Owls. In fact, for two straight years Bradley was Maryland’s worst nightmare as he helped win the 2018 game at Maryland, 35-14, with a Pick 6.

The second time he beat Maryland was one of the most exciting goal line stands in Temple history The Terrapins had a first-and-goal from the 2 and ended the series back on the 5, going for it on fourth down.

Bradley also had the key play to end Cincinnati’s unbeaten season at Temple’s Homecoming, an interception that ended the game.

As he went out of bounds on the Cincy sideline, he waved goodbye to that team.

Bradley said he’s “excited for the future” and we’re sure that Temple education will bring him good things ahead. His life is just beginning so, while it’s sad he’s leaving football, the worst news of the days was we won’t get to see Tre Johnson anymore.

Johnson made an incredible impact in his 54 years and will be remembered as one of the team’s best offensive linemen in history.

Friday: A Significant Difference

12.07.25
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A bowl selection Sunday to remember for Temple

My three-letter reaction when I heard the news on Sunday night.

The last Bowl Selection Sunday that went this bad for Temple came in 2010, when an 8-4 Temple team was told there was no bowl for them.

That time it was the bad guys’ fault. This time the blame falls on the good guys.

Both TE Peter Clarke and DE Cam’Ron Stewart wanted to play.

It was pretty hard, even in those days of 2010, for an 8-4 Temple team to not be chosen but that’s exactly what happened.

“Guys, it’s over,” Al Golden said in a team meeting. “We didn’t get picked.”

A few hours later, Golden left for the Miami job and had to have another meeting to give those kids further bad news.

That was a pretty good Temple team. They beat a BCS bowl (Fiesta) team (UConn) by 20 points and deserved to a chance to bring back some hardware for the Edberg Olson trophy case. The bad guys didn’t want to give Temple a bowl spot that day.

So much for the bad guys.

The question might be who held a gun to Temple’s Temple?

Five weeks ago, Temple was sitting on a 5-3 record and looked like a sure shot for a bowl game. The the Owls lost four-straight games to close out the season and bowl hopes went out the window.

Or so we thought.

A nice bowl trophy fell into their laps on Sunday afternoon–not to mention a nice trip to a warmer place and three weeks of needed practice–and the Owls said thanks but no thanks to a Birmingham Bowl spot that would have put them up against 6-6 Georgia Southern. In my estimation, the Owls would have been a double-digit favorite in such a game and a bowl win, even for a 5-7 team, would put a nice taste in everyone’s mouths and maybe even helped ticket sales for next season.

My guess is that call was made above the K.C. Keeler level but we should find that out in the next few days.

Whoever made the call, though, is a supposed good guy representing Temple.

There are reasons for turning it down including costs, travel and players, but those reasons apply more to the other teams who turned the bid down, not Temple. These Owls were three points away from 7-5 and, in those two games, some extremely questionable calls by the refs robbed them.

These kids deserved a bowl, too.

Back 15 years ago, the prevailing thought was maybe that someday Karma would pay Temple back by giving the Owls a bid on a day they didn’t expect it.

Sunday was the day that something nice fell into their laps and, instead of dusting it off putting it in a place of honor, they threw it out the window.

Somebody has got some explaining to do.

Update: Temple statement below….

So you’re basically saying everybody either said no or “get back to us” but App State said, “Hell Yes!!!! Where do I sign?”

Friday: Room At The Top