Remembering Franco Harris, The Immaculate Reception, NFL Week 16 On Deck. Meet The Mets: The New Evil Empire. Sayonara Sarver As Suns Sell For $4B/Warriors Collapsing? Masters To LIV: Come On Down!
The weather outside is frightful, but the sports world is so delightful. I'll have some shiny gifts under the tree, but some coal in a stocking or two as I spread some cheers and jeers over the next hour. On deck:
(3:58) After a birthday shoutout and sending well wishes to those celebrating Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa during this holiday season, I begin the podcast with the shocking news of legendary Steelers RB, Franco Harris, passing away at the age of 72. He transitions just days before the 50th anniversary of the greatest play in NFL history (The Immaculate Reception), the docuseries 'A Football Life' that will air Friday night on the anniversary of the play, then have his number retired on Christmas Eve where the Raiders invade Pittsburgh, which are the two teams in the divisional playoff game 50 years prior that made this play famous. Week 16 has a few interesting matchups, including the Thursday night contest between the top two quarterbacks drafted in 2021 (Jaguars Trevor Lawrence and the Jets Zach Wilson) as both are fighting to position themselves in the AFC playoff hunt. I'll go through a laughable Christmas Day schedule, but highlight the key games that'll have postseason implications as we're down to the final couple of weeks of the year. I'll also get into where the NFL Sunday Ticket is moving to after almost three decades with DirecTV.
(29:21) I make a brief mention of the NHL as it's relatively quiet. The Hurricanes have stormed to the top of the Metropolitan Division, tied with the Devils. Besides that, all is pretty mellow.
(29:53) What's not mellow is the activity of the New York Mets this offseason. They shockingly sign Carlos Correa as his deal with the Giants bottomed out due to red flags regarding his medical past. There is SO much to unpack here. The amount owner Steve Cohen has spent this offseason, the payroll ballooning to over $380 million dollars, the pressure and expectation of this team, the bullseye on their back, which all culminates to one thing. They are the new Evil Empire. I'll touch on a few signings over the past few days (i.e. Seth Lugo, Noah Syndergaard, etc.) as I believe the free agent period will start to quiet down after an active past couple of weeks.
(47:03) There's a new owner in the NBA circles as Mat Ishbia, a CEO of a mortgage lending company has purchased the Suns and Mercury for a record $4 billion dollars. We can say good riddance to erstwhile owner Robert Sarver and all of his baggage and filth over the past several years. What's going on with the Warriors? They'll limp home after a 1-5 road trip, where on the back end lost to the Knicks and Nets by 38 and 30, respectively. Is there something going on behind the scenes as they try to get their season on track? I'll debate the 2023 nominees for the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. We know Gregg Popovich, Dwyane Wade and Dirk Nowitzki are no-brainers. What about Tony Parker? Or Pau Gasol?
(56:20) The Masters are telling the LIV golfers to come on down to Augusta in April. There's no surprise that they've elected for them to participate. What about the PGA Championship, the US Open and Open Championship? Will they follow suit?
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Intro/outro music by Cyklonus.