Back from a couple of weeks in Europe visiting Dublin, Budapest, Vienna, Passau, Ringenberg, Nurenberg and Prague. I am not quite in sync with the Eastern Time Zone of the US and I am not nearly caught up on all that transpired during my European adventure; nonetheless, I will try to do a quick skimming of the surface regarding the last couple of weeks in sports.
In the NBA Playoffs, the Lakers went out in Round 1 losing to the Timberwolves. Only once in 5 games did the Wolves fail to hit triple digits on the scoreboard which indicates a porous defense for the Lakers. Indeed, in the high-profile trade where the Lakers acquired Luka Doncic for Anthony Davis, what the Lakers did was to trade away their only strong defender. So much for the conspiracy theory that the NBA engineered the trade to get the Lakers into the NBA Finals – presumably against the Celtics – to goose TV ratings with the two blueblood franchises in the Finals.
Speaking of the Celtics, they are trailing the Knicks 2-0 in that second round series. In both victories, the Knicks rallied from 20 points down on the road to win those games. Game 3 is tomorrow in Madison Square Garden… If that game does not draw a big TV audience, the NBA is in trouble.
Gregg Popovich is retiring from coaching the San Antonio Spurs; he is the President of the Spurs in addition to being the head coach; as of now, he will continue in that executive role. Popovich was an Assistant Coach with the Spurs from 1988 to 1994. He took over as head coach in 1996 and has been there ever since. His teams have won 5 NBA championships, and the Spurs lost in the Finals one other time. His regular season coaching record is 1422-869 (win percentage = .621) Popovich suffered a stroke in November 2024; he is said to be recovering well, but the idea of continuing with the stress of coaching after such a health scare makes his retirement easily understood.
Personally, I have always admired the way Popovich has dismissed the inane questions put to him by sideline reporters. Once he was asked on the way into the locker room at halftime of a tie game what he thought the team needed to do in the second half to pull out a victory. His response was a classic:
“Score more points than they do.”
Moving on … I was surprised by the precipitous fall of Shedeur Sanders in the NFL Draft. I said prior to the Draft that I did not think he would be a great first round pick, but he lasted until Round 5 where the Browns took him as their second QB in the Draft. My first thought was that scouts had detected a serious flaw in his game but after thinking about it for a while I have another idea. Maybe – – just maybe – – Sanders suffers from something I will call “Colin Kaepernick Syndrome”. Hear me out …
- Kaepernick would be the focus of media attention and reporting on any team that signed him and given his absence from the game and his performance in his last games as a regular player, the best he could hope to be is a backup QB. Teams do not want their backup QB to be a focus for the media; teams want their backup QB to be a wallflower not a spotlight entity.
- Shedeur Sanders may or may not turn out to be a franchise QB someday, but his draft slot says that most scouts/coaches/GMs see him as a project meaning that he will be a backup for some time. In that case, Sanders would be like Kaepernick and draw attention to himself and the backup QB position which is not what the ideal NFL team model looks like.
The Browns have 3 QBs on their roster already in Joe Flacco, Kenny Pickett and Deshaun Watson; in the Draft the Browns took Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders. There is little likelihood that the Browns will keep all 5 on their books; usually only one player on the Practice Squad is a QB. Suddenly, the Browns’ Training Camp became a point of interest; can Sanders even make the cut?
The Ravens released kicker Justin Tucker. Yes, he had a sub-standard season in 2024 but historically, he is one of the best placekickers in NFL history. The “problem” here is the allegation that he behaved inappropriately with some female massage therapists over the years. The message there is that it is easier for the Ravens to find a replacement kicker than it is for the team to appear to condone or accept such alleged behaviors.
And of course, the Aaron Rodgers Saga continues. All signs point to him signing with the Steelers who did not draft a QB until Round 6 last month but you never know with Rodgers. I have said here before that he is addicted to public attention, and I think that factor is playing into the hemming and hawing at this late date. Once again, hear me out:
- At least 5 days a week someone writes a story about Rodgers and his “decision” for the 2025 season and beyond. The day Rodgers signs on somewhere or announces his retirement, those stories 5 days a week will dry up.
- If he signs with the Steelers, the focus will be on how he blends in with the team not about his latest “darkness retreat” or a long weekend on ayahuasca. He will share the storyline with teammates and with coach Mike Tomlin who does not give the impression that he likes prima donnas very much.
- And to make that storyline reduction even bigger, making his decision final would open the door to another QB “narrative” that is waiting to happen as the Niners and Brock Purdy decide what their future will be after 2025. Purdy’s contract is up this year; he will make $5M this year. As a franchise QB, he might ask for $50M per year; should the Niners pay him that much; will they pay him that much? There is a storyline that could relegate Aaron Rodgers to “old news”.
Meanwhile, the Steelers also traded away WR, Geroge Pickens to the Cowboys. Mike Tomlin said that Pickens needed to “grow up” related to some of his antics with the team and the local media. Evidently Pickens – – an above average WR – – remained immature.
Finally, another quote from Gregg Popovich:
“I’m not too interested in talking about the past. It doesn’t do us any good whatsoever.”
But don’t get me wrong, I love sports………