As Final Four Weekend approaches, this is a year of change for TV viewers. From 2004 until last year, Jim Nantz had been the play-by-play guy on CBS; Nantz has relinquished that role this year and Ian Eagle will take his place along with Grant Hill and Bill Raferty to present the games to the country. Based on the games this trio has done so far in this year’s tournament, the transition has been seamless. My only “regret” is that Eagle’s promotion broke up a great announcing tandem of Ian Eagle and Jim Spanarkel – – but such is the way of the world.
Jim Nantz is not retiring completely. He will continue as the lead play-by-play guy for CBS presentations of NFL games along with Tony Romo. And, you will recognize his voice if you tune in to see The Masters the weekend after next.
Moving on … I have shared many historical and statistical sports notes here that have come to me from the “reader in Houston”. Yesterday, he demonstrated that his access to historical events crosses over into the world of entertainment. Yesterday, I closed with an observation by actor Jack Palance; late yesterday afternoon, I got this email from the “reader in Houston”:
“FYI – Jack Palance, before his career as a boxer and then as a WW2 bomber pilot where he was in a test-flight plane crash in the Arizona desert, which disfigured his face, resulting in plastic surgery that gave him that tight, leathery look, was an All-State FB in Pennsylvania in the late 1930s and then played football at UNC for two seasons, but quit the team when the coach wanted to make a lineman out of him. The rest is history.”
So, now we know…
Switching gears … There was a major trade in the NFL yesterday; and on the surface, it looks lopsided:
- Houston Texans get: Stefon Diggs, a sixth-round pick this year and a fifth-round pick next year.
- Buffalo Bills get: A second-round pick this year.
The Bills will also incur a “dead cap charge” of $31M for 2024 as a result of this trade which makes the exchange look even more out of balance that it seems on its face. Fans of the Jets and the Dolphins are probably rejoicing at what looks like a talent loss for the Bills who have been top dogs in the AFC East over the past couple of years. Remember, the Bills also lost WR Gabe Davis to free agency in the last couple of weeks. Josh Allen will still be throwing the ball for the Bills, but who is going to catch it?
Diggs has been in the NFL for 9 years; he will turn 31 in the middle of the 2024 season. He has made All-Pro twice and been selected for the Pro Bowl in each of the last 4 seasons. He was the Bills’ #1 WR and was highly productive for most of his time in Buffalo. In Houston, he will join a WR corps that featured Nico Collins and Tank Dell last year; that trio should be a handful for opposing defenses so long as QB, CJ Stroud does not suffer a “sophomore slump.”
If I were a Texans’ fan, I would have only one small reservation about this trade.
- To my mind, Stefon Diggs qualifies as a “diva WR”.
- He was outstanding in his time with the Vikings until such time as he decided he did not want to be there any longer and he “forced” his way out of town.
- He was outstanding in his time with the Bills until such time as he decided he did not want to be there any longer and he “forced” his way out of town.
- Diggs is under contract through the 2027 season for about $20M per year. Will those terms and team conditions keep him happy over the next 4 years?
At the end of the last NFL season, the Bills were in a salary cap bind and it was clear that they were going to lose some players in the free agent period as they had to clear cap space. That is some of what has happened to the Bills; here are some of the players in addition to Diggs who moved on from Buffalo since the start of NFL free agency:
- Gabe Davis – WR – signed with the Jags; he averaged about 40 catches per year in Buffalo.
- Mitch Morse – C – signed with the Jags; he made the Pro Bowl in 2022.
- Jordan Poyer – S – signed with the Dolphins; he was an All Pro in 2021 and made the Pro Bowl in 2022.
- Tre’Davious White – CB – signed with the Rams; he has been an All Pro twice and made the Pro Bowl twice.
Those four players – along with Diggs – represent almost 25% of the starting offensive and defensive units for the Bills at the start of last season. It is not easy to replace that many starters all at once…
Finally, as you watch the Final Four games this weekend – – and the Championship game on Monday too of course – – keep in mind this question posed by Bob Molinaro in the Hampton Roads Virginian-Pilot:
“Wouldn’t it be interesting to know how many fifth and sixth year graduate basketball players are actually working toward a graduate degree?”
But don’t get me wrong, I love sports………