Four Different Sports Today …

The Washington Nationals had the first pick in the MLB Draft and took a 17-year-old shortstop named Eli Willits.  Speaking to the fans after that selection, the Nats’ interim-GM said that their analysis convinced them that Willits was “the best hitter in the draft” and “the best fielder in the draft”.  Given that there was exactly no consensus on who the best player available was, there could not have been broad agreement on that assessment.  Nats’ fans are hoping for Willits to be a fast-rising prospect that lives up to the interim-GM’s billing.

Here is something for those Nats’ fans to hang onto:

• Willits is the youngest player taken first overall in the MLB Draft since 1996 when Ken Griffey, Jr. was the pick.  Griffey worked out “better than OK,” don’t you know…

Moving on …  The FIFA Club World Cup Finals took place in Met Life Stadium over the weekend; President Trump was in attendance as the guest of FIFA President, Gianni Infantino.  Players and coaches were not pleased with the venue nor the weather.  It was very hot and humid to the point that some players called the playing conditions “dangerous”.  A coach complained that the grass on the field was far too short for futbol; he said the turf was such that you could putt on it.

Those sorts of criticisms might be shrugged off as bad fortune – – except the FIFA World Cup will take place in North America next summer and dozens of games will take place in stadiums around the US and Mexico and Canada.  Heat and humidity are normal climatological conditions for many of the venues for the games next summer, so those sorts of complaints need to be given a bit more than passing attention.

This “Club World Championship” tournament was an idea supported by Infantino as a way to expand soccer interest and reach.  Two major clubs – – Chelsea of the EPL and Paris-St. Germain from Ligue 1 – – made it to the final game; Chelsea prevailed 3-0.  Infantino declared the tournament an unalloyed success.  At least one futbol manager – – Jurgen Klopp, formerly with Liverpool – – begs to disagree.  He called the tournament:

“ … the worst idea ever implemented in football …”

His criticism is based on what he calls “excessive demands” on the players because of this extension to the normal club seasons around the world.  It is nice to see that some things never change.  Nothing in the world of futbol can ever have  unanimous agreement.

Switching gears …  After the Phoenix Suns traded Kevin Durant to Houston as part of a 7-team exchange of players and draft picks, the team mulled the possibility of buying out Bradley Beal’s onerous contract – – the one with the no-trade clause in it – – and that led most commentators to conclude that the Suns were setting in the west and going into a rebuild.  Then the team turned around and extended Devin Booker’s contract for 2  years and $145M.

Because the narrative had been that the Suns were on a downward arc, that move brought forth wonderment that Booker would want to stay with a team on the downslope for longer than he had to.  My answer to that is pretty simple:

• $145M over 2  years is $72.5M per year which works out to be
  • • $198.6K per day
    • $8726,25 per hour – – well beyond minimum wage.

For those sorts of numbers, why would anyone be hesitant to sign on – – especially since if he were to be traded at any time before the end of the extension, he would still be fully paid?  This does not seem too mysterious to me.

Next up …  Adrian Peterson was in a poker game and that ended up with Peterson and one of the other players getting into a fistfight and the video of that event was all over social media.  Now, it has been announced that Peterson and his poker adversary will put on a celebrity boxing event.  As commentary on that announcement developed, someone pointed out that Peterson is in financial straits despite earning more than $100M over the course of his NFL career.   According to www.celebrityworth.com, Peterson’s net worth is “$minus- 12M.”  Here is a summary of the situation from that website:

In 2019, “ … Peterson’s attorney issued a statement confirming that the former MVP was effectively broke, blaming the situation on his client having “trusted the wrong people” with his finances. The comment came in the wake of multiple lawsuits and judgments tied to unpaid debts and high-risk loans.”

Finally, Oscar Wilde seems to be a reasonable way to close out today’s rant:

“When I was young I thought that money was the most important thing in life; now that I am old I know that it is.”

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