The Sports Curmudgeon

Happy Independence Day, everyone.  Celebrate safely and sanely.

I know that NFL teams have not reported to training camp yet and that the start of real NFL action is about 8 weeks in the future, but there is a confluence of events in the NFL that I will be very interested to watch unfold once things get underway.  Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you:

• The 2025 version of the Pittsburgh Steelers

This is a franchise known for stability, staying the course, patience, a blue-collar identity …  You get the idea.  Their last “losing season” was in 2003 – – albeit there have been four seasons with records of 8-8-0 in that streak.  The team has been in the Playoffs in four of the last five years.  What might entice such an organization to make a big change in “philosophy” with that history?

The Steelers have had a few divas over that time span, but their most accomplished players were the antithesis of “diva”.  Check this list of top-shelf Steelers’ players and try to apply the “diva label” to more than one or two:

• Jerome Bettis
• James Harrison
• Cam Hayward
• Santonio Holmes – – plenty of “diva” mixed in there
• Troy Polamalu
• Ben Roethlisberger
• Hines Ward
• TJ Watt
• Rod Woodson

And that list does not include any of the stars of the Super Bowl teams in the 1970s none of whom were remotely in the “diva category”.  So, in the offseason between 2024 and 2025, this stable and stay-the-course franchise decided to:

1. Sign Aaron Rodgers
2. Trade for DK Metcalf
3. Trade for Jalen Ramsey
4. Get into a “contract stare-down” with TJ Watt

Mike Tomlin has been the Steelers’ head coach since 2007; he is the longest tenured coach with an NFL team at the moment; this current roster may contain more personnel who represent “potential turmoil” than all the Steelers’ rosters combined in the Mike Tomlin Era.  And what I will find interesting to watch is this:

• Will Tomlin adapt to the new personnel dynamic?
• Will the rest of the roster adapt to the new personnel dynamic?
• Will Tomlin and the Steelers “squelch” the “diva potential” on the roster?

I am well aware of the adage that “Winning cures everything”.  So, if the Steelers make it to the AFC Championship Game, it will not matter – – nor will it be apparent – – how the team coalesced to get  there.  By the same token, if the Steelers have a miserable season and are drafting in the Top Three for next year’s Draft, there will be so many fingers pointed, and stories floated about the collapse that it will be difficult to separate fact from fiction.  Since I expect neither of those extreme scenarios to play out in 2025, that means it could be possible to take a synoptic view of the team and perhaps divine why they took the course they did and how the coaches managed the change.

Finally, since I began today with Independence Day wishes for everyone, let me close with a line from the morning time DJ at a local rock-and-roll station from my youth.  Here is what Bill Wright Sr. told everyone about having a safe Fourth of July:

“To have a safe Fourth, don’t buy a fifth on the third.”

But don’t get me wrong, I love sports………

 

 

Let me begin today with a Public Service Announcement:

• As of today, we are halfway through calendar year 2025 meaning we are closer to the year 2050 than we are to the year 2000.
• Tempus fugit.

My long-suffering wife often accuses me of worrying about things in the future well before they could possibly happen.  She is right, of course; it is not one of my few if any attractive traits.  So, let me apply that idiosyncrasy of mine to a sports situation today.

The Tampa Bay Rays would be in the playoffs as a Wild Card team if the season ended now and they are within hailing distance of first place in the AL East.  So, let me project the Rays into the MLB Playoffs and suppose for a moment that the team gets hot in October and makes it to the World Series.  What’s the big deal?  The Rays have done that before …

• The Rays home field in 2025 is Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, FL.
• The seating capacity there is 11,026.
• MLB takes tix off the top to spread around to “corporate partners” and political figures who can be useful to MLB and the like.  Suppose that comes to 5000 tix per game.
• That would leave only about 6,000 tix for sale to the public which will make what is left of the Rays’ fanbase feel very badly.

For the record, the smallest paid attendance for a World Series Game was all the way back in Game 5 of the 1908 Series between the Tigers and the Cubs.  Attendance that day was only 6,210.  In the scenario I just posited, the record for the smallest paid attendance could be in jeopardy.

So, here’s the question.  What would be worse:

1. Move the World Series to a large stadium somewhere (Atlanta or Miami are the closest ones) thereby making any and all local Rays’ fans make their way to some “foreign outpost” where they may be outnumbered even in what would nominally be Rays’ home games?
2. Keep the games in Tampa at a minor league facility and deal with the fact that some loyal fans will be left out of the World Series through no fault of their own?

That is one reason that Rob Manfred earns the big bucks …

Moving on …  The NBA Champion Oklahoma City Thunder made a big splash in the offseason already signing Shai Gilgeous-Alesander to a 4-year supermax contract worth $285M.  [Aside:  That works out to just under $870K per regular season game over the contract lifetime.]  SGA won the league MVP in the recently concluded season and was the best player overall in the NBA Playoffs at the ripe old age of 27 – – his birthday is next week.

He was not always a member of the Thunder.  He was drafted by the Hornets who traded him to the Clippers the day after the Draft for Miles Bridges – – who was taken with the pick after him – – and a future second round pick.  He played in LA for one season.  Soon after his rookie season was over, SGA was involved in a trade that now looks about as lopsided as any trade that comes to mind:

• Clippers got: Paul George.  That’s it.
• Thunder got:  SGA and Danilo Gallinari and 5 first round picks from the Clippers and 2 first round pick swaps with the Clippers at the Thunder’s choosing.

It’s painful just looking at that swap this morning …

Switching gears …  Last week, the WNBA announced that it would be expanding by 3 teams between now and 2030.  The WNBA is clearly on the upswing in terms of live attendance figures, TV audiences and sponsorship interest.  Let’s not cat carried away; all those measures are hugely positive for the league, but the WNBA remains a niche sport in the US.  Nonetheless, the league will expand in the following way:

• Cleveland will join the league in 2028
• Detroit will join the league in 2029
• Philly will join the league in 2030.

According to a report I saw on the AP site, each team had to cough up a $250M “expansion fee” to get a seat at the table.  That same report said that 7 other cities bid for franchises but that these three cities won the lottery for this round of expansion.  The other cities were:

1. Austin
2. Charlotte
3. Denver
4. Houston
5. KC
6. Miami
7. St. Louis

It seems to me like a good idea for the WNBA to expand one team at a time.  If there were to be three new teams in the league all in one season, there would be a dispersal of talent that could significantly degrade the product – – and that is exactly what the WNBA must avoid.  All is looking up at the moment regarding the WNBA; they need not stumble now and lose momentum.

Finally, this comment from Pat Summitt:

“We keep score in life because it matters. It counts. It matters. Too many people opt out and never discover their own abilities because they fear failure. They don’t understand commitment.”

But don’t get me wrong, I love sports………

 

 

I was having a phone chat with a former colleague who asked me to explain something to him:

• The prop bet on yards rushing for the 2025 NFL season by Saquon Barkley is in the range of 1300 yards (Over/Under) for the 2026 season.
• Given that Barkley rushed for 2005 yards last  year, why is that so low?

I think there are two answers for that query.  The first one has nothing at all to do with Saquon Barkley or the NFL.  A sportsbook operator is not trying to predict Barkley’s rushing total for 2026; the sportsbook simply wants a “balanced book” meaning they have approximately the same amount bet on the OVER prop as is bet on the UNDER prop.  When the book is balanced, the “house” gets a guaranteed profit based on the vig.  So, each book will move that prop line either up or down to accommodate the betting tread at that book, and that means the bettors are the ones actually determining the line for the prop.

The other answer is history.  Prior to Barkley’s season in 2025, only 8 running backs in NFL history have gained 2000+ yards in a regular season.  Ergo, it is not difficult to look back and ask how those 8 RBs performed in the season following their 2000-yard season.  Chronologically:

1. OJ Simpson:  In 1973, he gained 2003 yards (in only 14 games mind you).  In 1974 he gained 1125 yards.  The differential was minus-878 yards.
2. Eric Dickerson:  In 1984, he gained 2105 yards.  In 1985 he gained 1284 yards.  The differential was minus-821 yards.  Note: He missed 2 games in 1985.
3. Barry Sanders:  In 1997, he gained 2053 yards.  In 1998, he gained 1491 yards.  The differential was minus-562 yards.
4. Terrell Davis:  In 1998, he gained 2008 yards.  In 1999, he gained 211 yards.  The differential was minus-1797 yards.  Note:  He missed 12 games in 1999.
5. Jamal Lewis:  In 2003, he gained 2066 yards.  In 2004, he gained 1006 yards.  The differential was minus-1060 yards.  Note:  He missed 4 games in 2004.
6. Chris Johnson: In 2009, he gained 2006  yards.  In 2010, he gained 1364 yards.  The differential was minus-642 yards.
7. Adrian Peterson:  In 2012, he gained 2097 yards.  In 2013, he gained 1266 yards.  The differential was minus-831 yards.  Note: he missed 2 games in 2013.
8. Derrick Henry:  In 2020, he gained 2027 yards.  In 2021, he gained 937 yards.  The differential was minus-1090 yards.  Note:  He missed 8 games in 2021.

            The historical trend says that there is a significant decline in rushing yardage for a back in the season following a 2000+ yard season.  In five of the eight situations above, the player missed 2 or more games in the next season and Barkley carried the ball 345 times last year and caught 33 passes meaning he was heavily used by the Eagles in their offense in 2024.  The sportsbooks’ lines around 1300 yards for Barkley in 2025 point to a predicted differential of minus-705 yards in 2025.  Note that only two of the previous 2000+ yard rushers declined by fewer than 705 yards.

Staying with NFL news, there was a big trade in the NFL yesterday.

• Dolphins get:  Minkah Fitzpatrick and a 5^th-round pick in 2027
• Steelers get:  Jalen Ramsey, Jonnu Smith and a 7^th-round pick in 2027.

At first, I thought the Steelers pulled off a world-class heist with this deal.  After reflection, I still think the Steelers came out on top in the trade but maybe it is not such a lopsided transaction.  It seems to me that Jalen Ramsey – uber-talented as he is – just might not be the best guy to have on a team.  He has worn out his welcome with 3 teams now and he is going to be 31 years old in the middle of the upcoming season.  Maybe the Dolphins added by subtraction in this deal?

[Aside:  The Steelers are clearly not as concerned about aging DBs as I might be.  In addition to trading for Ramsey, they also acquired free agent Darius Slay this offseason and Slay is 34 years old now.]

Why I think the Steelers still came out ahead is that if you consider that Ramsey and Fitzpatrick are both top-shelf defensive backs and were swapped one for the other, then the Steelers got a good TE for a pick swap two years from now.  I think Jonnu Smith is worth a lot more than a pick swap.

Since I have been focused on NFL stuff today, let me look ahead just a little bit.  When Training Camp starts and teams begin their three Exhibition Games, a recognizable player somewhere will suffer a serious injury.  At that point the narrative will be that those Exhibition Games are more dangerous than they are worth.  Let me take a crack at that:

• I do not enjoy NFL Exhibition Games, but they are necessary to prepare for the real games.  NFL football is choreographed violence and when something is “choreographed” the choreography needs to be “rehearsed”.  Exhibition Games are a necessary evil.
• By the way, players also get injured in Training Camp practice sessions.  They are also necessary evils – – if you assume that “risk of injury” is an “evil”.
• At some point in the narrative, someone will point longingly at Roger Goodell’s offhand suggestion that he would love to see only 2 Exhibition Games and a regular season of 18 games.  The knee jerk reaction to that observation will surely be that the players’ bodies cannot stand that added stress and strain.
• How-Evah, [/Stephen A. Smith] the Canadian Football League has played 2 Exhibition Games and 18 regular season games every year since the mid-1980s without catastrophic results.

The moral of the story here is that this narrative is simply a way to fill time and space until the real season begins in September.

Finally, I’ll close today with this observation by political commentator – – and baseball fan – – George F. Will:

“Football combines two of the worst things in American life. It is violence punctuated by committee meetings.”

But don’t get me wrong, I love sports………

 

 

Dave Parker died over the weekend after and extended period of suffering from Parkinson’s Disease.  Parker would have been inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in about 4 weeks; he was approved for that status by the Veterans’ Committee last winter.  There was a time in the  70s and 80s when Parker was arguably the best player in MLB; he had every skill you could want in a player; his career stretched from 1973 to 1991.  Parker was selected as an All-Star 7 times and won the MVP award in 1978.  Interestingly, he was not an All-Star in the year he won the MVP.

Rest in peace, Dave Parker.

Moving on …  Last week, I noted that the PAC-12 was trying to reconstitute itself and that it has lined up 7 schools to begin conference competition in 2026.  I noted then that all the schools so far were named “Something” State and suggested some possible additions to the list – – one of which was Texas State.  Well, maybe someone was reading that suggestion and thought it made more sense than I intended when I suggested it because the PAC-12 and Texas State are going to join forces in 2026.

Texas State will be the first new member of the reconstituted PAC-12 to join that conference from somewhere other than the Mountain West Conference; Texas State is currently in the Sun Belt conference.  So, of course I went to see if there were other Sun Belt schools named “Something” State who might continue the trend here.  Indeed, there are three more “State Schools” in the Sun Belt conference but there is a geographical downside there.

The letter “P” in the PAC-12 name stands for the word “Pacific” which in the US implies a western locale.  Texas State is located in San Marcos, TX which is about halfway between Austin and San Antonio.  That is not exactly a “western locale” in the country, but if you squint hard enough, you might buy into it.  The other three Sun Belt schools that are “State Schools” are not nearly as easy to justify:

• Appalachian State – – not working for me
• Arkansas State – – need to squint even harder than for Texas State
• Georgia State – – uh, no.

Too bad; I thought there was something there to exploit …  Having said that, do not write any of it off permanently.  Remember:

• Sanford and Cal-Berkley are in the Atlantic Coast Conference  Northern California is 3 time zones away from the Atlantic Coast.
• Northern Illinois will play football in the Mountain West Conference.  There are no mountains anywhere near DeKalb County, IL nor is it “west” in the geography.

Switching gears …  In the world of comedy, they say that timing is everything.  Actually, I think that adage applies to a much larger segment of life than just comedy and a story that broke late last week makes that point.  Malik Beasley is an NBA free agent, and his agent was negotiating a deal with the Pistons that was reported to be for 3 years and in the $40-45M category.  Beasley has been in the NBA since 2016 and has been with 6 different teams; he is a shooting guard who averaged 16.9 points per game in the last regular season.

Here is the “timing issue”.  As that deal was reported to be in the final stages of negotiation, the US District Attorney’s Office in Detroit announced that Beasley is under investigation for gambling on NBA games and prop bets in the 2023/2024 season when Beasley was with the Milwaukee Bucks  I have to stop here to point out that this matter is still under investigation; Beasley has not been charged with anything let alone convicted of something  Nonetheless, the timing here could not have been much worse for Beasley and his agent.  Not surprisingly, the Pistons have broken off any negotiations pending more information and the NBA itself announced that it is “cooperating with the investigation.”

Finally, I started today on a down note – – the passing of Dave Parker.  Let me close today on a much brighter note:

Mel Brooks celebrated his 99^th birthday on Saturday.  May the Schwartz be with him.

  But don’t get me wrong, I love sports………

 

 

I and plenty of other basketball fans have said that the NBA regular season is too long and,  ideally, would be shortened save for the negative financial impact the trimming would have on team revenues.  The NBA itself recognizes that the season is too long because it tries to manufacture interest in its early season games with a concocted in-season tournament.

• Quick Quiz:  No Googling!!  Who won last year’s in-season tournament?

I bring up that old canard of “too long a season” to offer up a new criticism.

• The NBA Playoffs are also too long!

The NBA Playoffs began on April 15; they ended earlier this week; the Playoffs extended over more than two months.  By comparison:

• NFL Playoffs start in early January, and the Super Bowl is mid-February
• MLB Playoffs happen in October and may spill over into November by a day or two.
• The CFP starts just before Christmas and is over in the third week of January.
• March Madness fits into a 4-week calendar window.

So, I am now thinking that two things can be true at the same time.  The NBA regular season is too long AND the NBA Playoffs are similarly too long.  Before anyone accuses me of whistling in the wind, I realize neither the regular season nor the NBA Playoffs are going to be shortened.

Moving on …  There has been a low-level story about the Cincinnati Bengals playing out over the last year or so.  Here is the reset:

• The Bengals and the folks who own their stadium in Cincy have until June 30 to agree to a new lease or the Bengals can then exercise their first of five 2-year extensions to that lease.
• The Bengals want stadium upgrades, and they want the stadium owners to pay for the upgrades.  The Bengals point to upgrades worth $830M.
• Please note that the deadline for this is three days hence.

Yesterday, there was an announcement that the parties have reached a “preliminary agreement”.  The outline of that preliminary agreement would have:

• Upgrades of $470M with $120M of that total coming from the Bengals.
• Lease extension through the end of the 2036 season.
• Bengals get 5 each 2-year extensions as before meaning this deal might obtain until 2046.

This is a “preliminary deal” because the Hamilton (OH) Board of Commissioners has to ratify the deal and allocate the funding.  Reports say that path has been cleared, and the expectation is that the Bengals will be staying in their stadium in Cincy.  Actually, it would be interesting to see what might have happened should no “preliminary agreement” was possible.  If that had been the case, would the Bengals’ franchise itself have become a “free agent” in the sense that it could sign a deal somewhere else?

Staying with NFL news, the league has imposed a 10-game suspension on former Ravens’ kicker, Justin Tucker for violation of the NFL’s Personal Conduct Policy.  Tucker has been accused of improper conduct with massage therapists, and the league has investigated those allegations.  The Ravens released Tucker several weeks ago, so he is a free agent but cannot play for the first 10 weeks of the upcoming season.

The Washington Post reports this morning that Tucker will not appeal the suspension and that decision came from a meeting involving league officials, the NFLPA and Tucker’s representatives.  This action by the league does not resolve any other legal issues that exist between Tucker and the therapists who originally alleged his improper behavior(s).

Switching gears …  In MLB, Rays’ shortstop, Wander Franco, was convicted of sexual abuse of a minor in a court in the Dominican Republic.  The abuse happened several years ago when Franco was 21 and the minor child was 14 and according to the charges involved in this matter, Franco paid the girl’s mother.  [Aside:  It is not clear from reporting what the payments were for, but I cannot come up with any scenario where any payments would have been “innocent events”.]  The girl’s mother was also convicted of sexual abuse charges in the matter.

Franco’s sentence is 2 years suspended.  My understanding is that means he will not do jail time now, but the conviction stands and that might be a stumbling block for him to get a “work visa” to come to the US to play baseball for the Rays.  One of the conditions that allows officials to deny US visas is to have been involved in “crimes of moral turpitude”.  I am not an expert in evaluating visa requests, but the case that was just concluded certainly falls into the category of “moral turpitude” in my book.

Finally, I’ll close today with this from Oscar Wilde:

“Some cause happiness wherever they go; others whenever they go.”

But don’t get me wrong, I love sports………

 

 

The first round of the NBA Draft happened last night.  The NBA is trying to copy the NFL by spreading out its Draft over more than one prime time TV insertion.  One obstacle the NBA faces is the fact that about half of the players taken in “Night #2” will be players that have never been seen by at least 90% of the viewing audience.  It is hard to get too excited when your team chooses Joe Flabeetz over Sam Glotz in Round 2 when you have never seen either player nor could you pick either one out of a lineup with the Andrews Sisters.

There are a couple of interesting things to wonder about from the results of that first round of the Draft.

• Two players from Duke went in the Top Five.  Duke went to the Final Four last year and was dominant.  Makes sense.
• Two players from Rutgers went in the Top Five.  Rutgers finished 11^th in the Big-10 last year with a Conference record of 8-12 and an overall record of 15-17.  Makes no sense.

A third player from Duke’s squad last season was taken with the 10^th overall pick which means Duke had three “Top Ten Picks” this year.  That a team had three players taken in the Top Ten of the NBA Draft has happened twice before since 1993 which is where I stopped checking NBA Draft results early this morning:

1. In 2007, Florida had Al Horford, Corey Brewer and Joakim Noah drafted in the Top Ten.
2. In 2019, Duke (again) had Zion Williamson, RJ Barrett and Cam Reddish drafted in the Top Ten.

The Brooklyn Nets had five first round picks last night and held on to all of them taking three guards in the process.  The Nets will pick 6^th tonight in the second round of the Draft; Odds are they will not take another guard.

The Portland Trailblazers took Yang Hansen with the 16^th overall pick.  He is 19 years old, 7’ 2” tall and weighs 258 pounds.  He has been playing in the Chinese Basketball Association which is why 99.9% of NBA fans have never seen him play more than in a 30-second highlight reel.  Shades of Yao Ming … ?

The New Orleans Pelicans traded up to be able to draft Derik Queen.  The Pelicans already have Zion Williamson so the team will never lack “bulk” in the front court.  It will, however, lack interior defense when both guys are on the court together; neither player pays more than passing attention to that aspect of the game.

Switching gears …  Max Kellerman has been out of sight for about two years now after he was let go by ESPN in what seemed to be a cost-cutting move by the network.  Well, Max is coming back to the sports broadcasting sphere, and he will return to his roots.  Reports this week said that he will be part of the broadcast team for a major boxing event pitting Canelo Alvarez and Terrence Crawford in September.  The fight will be shown on Netflix; it will happen at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas and the winner will be the “Undisputed Super Middleweight Champion of the World.

Max Kellerman began his broadcasting career on public-access cable TV with a show called Max on Boxing.  He continued with that focus even in his days at ESPN as a fixture on that network’s presentation of Friday Night Fights.  He also did a bunch of studio shows for ESPN including as the original host of Around the Horn as well as hosting several ESPN Radio programs.  Kellerman is only 51 years old, and he is too good as a sports commentator to be “out of the loop”.  Hopefully, this event will get him back in orbit.

Moving on …  If you happen to be in the Dallas area and decide to take in a Texas Rangers’ game … and … you happen to be in the mood to present a digestive challenge to your gut, the Texas Rangers have just what you need:

• The Elvis Jabberdog Brownie:  This is a two-foot long brownie that is dusted in Rice Krispies as a coating and then deep-fried like a funnel cake.  Oh, but that is not all.  Then it gets a topping of more brownie crumbles and whipped cream – – of course.

I’m thinking this gets washed down with about 16 ounces of Pepto Bismol …

Finally, this from comedian Mitch Hedberg:

“My fake plants died because I did not pretend to water them.”

But don’t get me wrong, I love sports………

 

 

There seems to be lots of “little stuff” happening out there in the sports landscape today so let me start with an oddity in this year’s NBA Draft.  There are 30 NBA teams that would theoretically have the opportunity to select players in the first round of this year’s Draft; however, as a result of trades and deals and whatever, the Brooklyn Nets have 5 of those 30 first round picks.  The Nets will pick:

1. Eighth
2. Nineteenth
3. Twenty-second
4. Twenty-sixth
5. Twenty-seventh

If the plan in Brooklyn is to “get younger”, then this is an ideal situation.  If, however, …

Moving on …  It has been about two weeks since Aaron Rodgers was the subject of sports reporting and that is an untenable position for someone who loves the spotlight as much as Rodgers obviously does.  And so, in his periodic visit to the Pat McAfee Show yesterday, Rodgers said that this year – – his first year with the Steelers – – will “likely” be his last year in the NFL and that he would “likely” retire once it is finished.  Rodgers said that this thinking is the reason he and the Steelers came to a one-year agreement in terms of a contract.

If I assume that the statement from yesterday actually comes to pass, that will “likely” mean that the buzz around the Steelers in the next offseason will be the same one that tortured us this year:

• Will the team really be willing to go through a season with Mason Rudolph as their starting QB?

Next up …  Earlier this week, the Oakland/Las Vegas A’s broke ground for the new stadium that is supposed to be the home field for the team in Las Vegas.  This storyline has been around for years with more twists, turns and entanglements than a plate of spaghetti.  The reports around the actions earlier this week give the storyline a new stature.  When it comes to major building ventures, there is a significant difference between “Plans”/“Agreements”/”Referenda” and dirt being removed from the ground in preparation for laying a concrete foundation.

The site for the new stadium is close by Allegiant Stadium – – home of the Las Vegas Raiders – – just off The Strip in Las Vegas.  The project is budgeted to cost $1.75B and is supposed to be ready for business at the start of the 2028 MLB season.  The facility will have a dome/roof and will seat 33,000 fans.  To make room for the facility, it was necessary to tear down the old Tropicana Hotel.  Theoretically, that hotel and casino will be replaced by a new one once stadium construction is completed.  My skepticism here is that I wonder if there is enough room for both the stadium and the hotel – – plus parking for those two venues – – on the plot of ground in question.  Que sera, sera…

Switching gears …  In mythology, the Phoenix was destroyed by fire but reconstituted itself from its ashes and rose to exist in an even more powerful incarnation.  I don’t know about the “more powerful” part of this story, but the PAC-12 conference had been burned to the ground and now is trying to reconstitute itself.  The conference imploded when most of  its members defected to the Big-12 and the Big-10 leaving only Oregon State and Washington State behind.  Those two schools have attracted 5 other schools seeking to play under the aegis of the “PAC-12” and the reconstituted conference has reached an agreement with CBS on a TV package that will provide financial footing for the conference.

For reasons known only to the mavens who run the NCAA, there is a rule – – of course – – that says to be a conference and to strike TV deals, there need to be 8 members of the conference.  Right now, “PAC-12  2.0” has only 7 members so there has to be some momentum there to go and find another participant.  As of this morning, here are the 7 schools:

1. Oregon State – – hold over from the original PAC-12
2. Washington State – – holdover from the original PAC-12
3. Boise State – – late of the Mountain West Conference
4. Colorado State – – late of the Mountain West Conference
5. Fresno State – – late of the Mountain West Conference
6. San Diego State – – late of the Mountain West Conference
7. Utah State – – late of the Mountain West Conference

That list leads me to think about a couple of things:

• Since every school in the reconstituted PAC-12 is “Something State”, maybe they should try to get New Mexico State or Texas State or even Oklahoma State to become the eighth conference member.  Everyone could refer to the conference as the “State Department”.
• The Mountain West Conference had twelve members.  If it loses 5 teams as noted above, that would mean the Mountain West would fall below the NCAA’s “8-team threshold” meaning the MWC might be out looking for “immigrants”.

Sure looks to me as if this story is not over.

Finally, having mentioned the Phoenix above, I am reminded of this malaprop by former Vice-President, Dan Quayle:

“I love California, I practically grew up in Phoenix.”

But don’t get me wrong, I love sports ………

 

 

Last week, I mentioned that the owner of the Tampa Bay Rays had entered into “exclusive negotiations” with someone who wanted to buy the franchise.  The potential buyer who is exclusively negotiating is a real estate developer in Jax.  Over the weekend, the NY Times reported that a second bidder for the franchise has appeared on the horizon.  The “new guy” is a hedge fund guy who reportedly has assembled a team of partners who can make a cash offer for the Rays’ franchise in MLB.  “Hedge Fund guy” is from Memphis and there has been chatter around the idea of Memphis becoming an MLB outpost for a couple of years now.  One speculation was that the White Sox might move there if they cannot get public funding for a new stadium in South Chicago.

“Hedge Fund Guy” claims to have made his cash offer to the Rays’ current owner; the Rays’ owner and the “Exclusive Negotiator” refused comment on the matter as did MLB itself.  Obviously, the NY Times sought their comments for the article, but all of them seem to have chosen to exist under the “Cone of Silence”.

“Hedge Fund Guy” asserts that the plan is to keep the Rays in South Florida by seeking “a productive partnership” with a local government possibly in Tampa or in St. Petersburg with Orlando also being in play:

“This is not a relocation play to another state.  You won’t see the Rays relocating out of Central Florida, whether it was our group or another group.

“The league, that’s what they’re looking for. Someone who can not only buy the club, but solves the stadium problem.”

For the moment, let me take “Hedge Fund Guy” at his word.  I believe that he would indeed like to keep the franchise where it has been and where it has established a small footing and a small fanbase.  However, “Hedge Fund Guy” also says that it will take something in the neighborhood of $3B to buy the team and resolve the “stadium situation”; somehow, that new stadium will have to attract more than 10,000 fans per game to make that $3B price tag merely seem “expensive”.

If this were a book report from high school days, I would say that all this happened in the first three or four chapters and there are at least a dozen more chapters to go.

Switching gears but staying with baseball …  Chip Caray is Harry Caray’s grandson; Chip is the play-by-play guy for the St. Louis Cardinals, and he had a career-threatening event last week.  During the broadcast of a game against the Reds, Caray had to do a “live read” of a promo for “Disability Pride Night” which was an upcoming event for the Cards.  Before I get into what Caray said, let me reveal that I did a little radio work when I was in undergraduate school and as I was being tutored in how to do what I was hoping to do well on the air, it was emphasized that “live reads” were like a tightrope act.  If you make it from one end to the other, people will go “Wow!” and then forget what you did.  If you tumble in the middle of your run, the audience will remember it forever.  Caray tumbled:

“Disability Pride Night is Thursday, July 10. With a themed ticket, fans take home a Cardinals cap featuring the disability pride fa* … flag, and Cardinals in braille.”

Caray and his partner in the booth were so stunned by the slip of the tongue that 31 seconds of “dead air” followed before Caray’s partner began speaking again.  In recent times, that sort of error was the predecessor of a terminated career or at the very least an interrupted career over the airwaves.  Not so here.  The Cards and their TV network said that Chip Caray will continue in his play-by-play role and that he will not be punished; the thinking is that this was an honest and unfortunate mistake made during a live read that that Caray had no intention of harming or insulting anyone at all.

Good for the Cards and good for the network!  The “cancel culture” was never a favorite of mine and perhaps this signals that it may not be nearly as potent today as it was in the recent past.  Chip Caray has been in and around sports broadcasting for more than 3 decades without any slips like this one.  He earned a “Get Out Of Jail Free” card with all of his previous work; I am glad he got to use it here.

Finally, I’ll close today with this from another Cards’ broadcaster, Joe Garagiola:

“I went through baseball as a player to be named later.”

But don’t get me wrong, I love sports………

 

 

Congratulations to the Oklahoma City Thunder as the 2025 NBA Champions.  Last night’s Game-7 victory was decisive; the Thunder are worthy champions having proved their abilities on the court.  Both the Thunder and the Pacers are  young teams; given the way these playoffs unfolded, it would not be shocking to see these two teams developing a rivalry over the next several seasons and that would be a good thing for the NBA which needs to have some focus on younger talent since the league emphasizes the marketing of its star players.

And speaking of focusing attention on star players, Kevin Durant was traded from the Suns to the Rockets over the weekend.  In exchange for Durant, the suns receive:

• Jalen Green
• Dillon Brooks
• This year’s #10 pick in the NBA Draft
• Five second round picks.

That exchange tells me that the Rockets intend to go for a championship next year because Durant – – age 36 during the next NBA regular season – – will be an unrestricted free agent after the next NBA season.  The Rockets could sign him up for a two-year extension whose value is specified by the CBA and that two years would cost them just north of $122M.

If that sounds as if I think the Rockets made a bad deal, that is not really the case.  Jalen Green is a good player; he led the Rockets in scoring last season; he is only 23 years old; he could develop into a franchise foundation piece somewhere sometime.  However, if that does not pan out, the only other possible “franchise player” the Suns might get is the guy they take at #10 in this year’s draft.  Brooks is a decent player, but that’s it; the five second round picks are pure gambles; it is as if the Suns got five free keno cards at a Vegas casino.  Maybe one will hit it big – – but probably not.

Another thing I do not understand about the deal from the Suns’ perspective is how they plan to fit Green – – a scoring guard – – in with the two scoring guards they already have in Devin Booker and Bradley Beal.  You cannot score without the ball and there is only one ball in play at any given moment of the game; so, this seems like a problem to me.

• The Suns said they are not planning on “flipping” Green elsewhere.
• Beal has a no trade clause and has vetoed trades in the past
• Booker is the best of the three guards and the Suns should not trade him.
• And therefore …

From Kevin Durant’s singular perspective, he just got a raise without changing even a semicolon in his contract.  Arizona has a flat state tax of 2.5%; Texas has no state income tax.  In fact, a state income tax is specifically forbidden in the Texas State Constitution.

Durant will make $52.282,608 next season.  By moving to a place without a state income tax he will “save” $1,332,065.20.  That should cover moving expenses …

Moving on …  Last week, I commented on an article that listed the 5 best freshman basketball players at Duke.  I thought three more should be on the list and ended my comment by saying, “Now, who have I left off the discussion board…?”  In almost no time flat, I got an e-mail from “the reader in Houston”; here are the pertinent parts:

“Jayson Tatum was a one-and-done. He may not have had the stats of some of the other freshmen, as he did miss a number of games early in the season with tendonitis, against some stiffs like Marist, Grand Canyon, Bill and Mary, and App State, which would probably have boosted his stats. He did average an impressive 33 mpg, which tells you how much Coach K relied on him as a frosh. People often overlook MPG as a stat, instead keying in on ppg, rpg, apg, etc. “

The “reader in Houston” is correct; Tatum belongs on the list.  I tend to think of Tatum as a pro player far more than as a college player and completely overlooked him.

“And another of my Duke favorites was one-and-done, Luol Deng, who was no stiff either as a frosh.”

And there is another player whose performance as a pro and whose successful ventures in his post-basketball career have taken my focus off his play at the college level.

Finally, I’ll close today with a question posed by Satchel Paige:

“How old would you be if you didn’t know how old you was?”

But don’t get me wrong, I love sports………