Month: July 2026

Since this idea crossed my mind, I assume it also impacted others; might Brandon Sorsby spend the 2026 football season in the CFL as he prepares for draft eligibility in April 2027?  Well, the answer is a resounding “NO!” from the folks in charge of the CFL.  In a statement by the league, they did not leave a whole lot of wiggle room:

“Upholding the integrity of the league and ensuring fair competition are paramount to the CFL.  The allegations involving Brendan Sorsby are serious and concerning. At this time, the CFL will not register a contract for him, and no team will be permitted to add him to its negotiation list.”

The CFL season is about month old now and as of this morning there are two winless teams in the standings – – the Lions and the Redblacks.  Even if either team were tempted to make a run at Brendon Sorsby, that avenue has been cut off.

Moving on …   This item has been hanging around on my clipboard for several weeks now.  Back in April, the folks at Churchill Downs announced that they were going to buy the branding rights for the Preakness Stakes and for the Black-Eyed Susan Stakes, the sister race that happens on the day before the Preakness.  Evidently, the idea was that Churchill Downs would lease back the rights to the Maryland horse racing officials to stage the two races each year.  Before you ask, I don’t understand the subtleties of that transaction but that is what has been widely reported.

Well, the State of Maryland must understand something in that proposition that it does not like because Maryland governor, Wes Moore, announced that the State of Maryland would “exercise its right of first refusal to match the Churchill Downs offer of $85M” for those branding rights.  Don’t ask me to explain the nuances here but the Governor’s remarks make it clear that something important was contained in the original offer by Churchill Downs:

“The Preakness Stakes is more than just a race.  It is a cornerstone of Maryland’s history, culture and economy.  This decision (to match the Churchill Downs bid) secures a vital asset for our state allowing Maryland to shape its horse racing destiny and by leveraging the Preakness’s iconic status and partnering with industry experts to enhance the fan experience  and preserve Maryland’s position as a key power player in the Triple Crown for generations to come.”

Who knew?  Certainly not I …

Switching gears …  The MLBPA presented some of its ideas to the baseball owners as the early stages of negotiations for a new CBA chug along.  The union suggested that the trade deadline to be moved to a window between July 21-27. Currently, the Commissioner’s office chooses a date annually between July 28 and Aug. 3. This year’s trade deadline is Aug. 3.

The players are onto something here; the trade deadline was in mid-June once upon a time and rosters after that time were more firmly set than is the case today.  I like the idea of an earlier trade deadline, and I would like to see it moved a lot more than a week or so; make the trade deadline July 1 every season and deal with it.

The union went off the reservation with the addendum to that original proposal.  They want to make some trades available after the trade deadline.  That sort of negates the idea of a “deadline” but that seems not have bothered the authors here.

The union wants to expand major league rosters from 26 players to 28 players for the first two weeks of the regular season.  Owners will reflexively oppose that idea since that adds two more “major league level salaries” to their books even for only a couple of weeks.  My sense is that the union put this on the table as a bargaining chip somewhere down the line.

The union also set forth a slew of proposals to regulate – – and presumably to reduce – – the back and forth for players with the parent club and the minor leagues.  As with the roster expansion idea noted above, this is a mere ripple in the negotiations where a salary cap and salary floor are out there for discussion.  All these ideas being floated now are ancillary to the big-ticket issue in reaching a new CBA.  There are still more than four months to go before the current CBA expires so there is no real urgency to get moving on any “big stuff” so this is the phase where each side will offer up “wish list items”.

Significant action in situations like this demand urgency and urgency is related to deadlines.  The big deadline here is December 1, 2026; that is when the current CBA expires; it will probably be until the month of November before serious give-and-take talks take place.  Nothing will happen now because the next scheduled meeting of the negotiators is not until the All-Star break in mid-July.

Finally, keep this sports-themed thought with you over the Holiday weekend:

“The British blew a 13-colony lead …”

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

 

 

There are some big names on the move in the NBA so far in this offseason.  And of course, the biggest name of all – – LeBron James – – will ponder his options for a while before selecting the fan base who will then be expected to adore him for the next year or two.  [Aside:  Is LeBron James the Aaron Rodgers of the NBA or is Aaron Rodgers the LeBron James of the NFL?]  Let’s review the bidding:

• Bucks traded Giannis to the Heat for 4 players and 4 first-round picks.  On the assumption that Giannis’ injury from last season was an aberration and that he can mesh well with Bam Adebayo and Tyler Hero, that trade should make the Heat a serious contender in the NBA East.
• Grizzlies traded Ja Morant to the Blazers for Kris Murray and Jerami Grant.  Morant looked at one time to be a rising superstar in the league; off-court behaviors and injuries changed that perception.  From the Grizzlies perspective, this trade looks as if they have given up having to deal with an infant terrible.
• Hornets traded LaMelo Ball to the Timberwolves for Naz Reed and a basketful of picks and pick swaps that extend all the way out to 2033.  My sense is that the Hornets have decided to rebuild and that made this trade thinkable.
• Hornets traded Miles Bridges to the Suns along with a 2029 first round pick and got back Grayson Allen, Royce O’Neale plus a first round pick in 2033.  This solidifies my sense that the Hornets are in rebuilding mode.
• Celtics traded Jaylen Brown to the Sixers in exchange for Paul George and two first round picks plus two second round picks.  I have no idea how or why the Celtics made this trade, but I have learned not to second-guess Celtics’ GM, Brad Stevens.

These big name moves – along with several much less dramatic roster alterations – have created a lot of buzz around the NBA for the last week or two.  And there is one other story floating around out there that could create more hyperactivity on the Internet.

• Ben Simmons says he is ready to return to the NBA.

In case you have forgotten, Simmons was the overall #1 pick in the NBA Draft by the Sixers in 2016.  Let’s just say that his time in Philly was tumultuous and that he was traded to the Net and then to the Clippers without coming close to the star status that one might expect from an overall #1 pick.  Simmons showed defensive skills and excellent passing skills in his previous encounter with the NBA, but he almost refused to shoot the basketball, and offense is a critical element of NBA basketball.

Simmons asserts that he has exorcised the demons that clouded his previous times in the league and sort of like Richard Nixon during his return to politics in the 1960s, Simmons has pronounced himself as rested and ready.   Here is what he said in an interview with Men’s Health magazine:

“I plan on getting as strong as I can physically, getting my ass on the court, and then the team realizing that my abilities will be needed.  …  You can’t teach 6’ 10” and IQ.”

He’s right, you know.  Neither size nor intellect can be taught.  And in that final statement, Simmons plants the seeds of doubt for his return.  When he was previously in the league and disappointing coaches and fans from Philly to LA, he was then 6’ 10” and had his same IQ.  It didn’t all work out for the best then; might it work out better now?  Teams will have to decide on the likelihood of  that outcome in 2026 and going forward.

My assessment of Ben Simmons is that he had/has some prodigious talents that he wasted in his early years by spending way too much time cultivating celebrity status and not working on the deficiencies in his basketball game.  Simmons can declare himself a changed person, but it will be the assessment(s) of various NBA GMs and coaches that decide if a team will be willing to give him a landing spot for his return to the league.

Moving on …  I want to pose a question here.  The NBA has had a problem with teams tanking seasons as a strategy for becoming a contending team down the road.  The league has wrestled with “fixes” for that strategic behavior over the years; while nothing has been a perfect cure for the “tanking problem”, the NBA has acknowledged it and tried to make it better.  With that as a backdrop, think about this:

• When MLB teams “sell off” their best players at the trade deadline, isn’t that a “tanking strategy” that could cast doubt on the integrity of MLB games?

You make the call …

Finally, this from Mel Brooks:

“Bad taste is simply saying the truth before it should be said.”

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