Durant Or Nets To Blame For Fallout In BK? Another Ainge Fleecing? Padres Spoil Dodger Sweep At Midway Point Of MLB Season. Swiatek Ousted/Kyrgios Antics At Wimbledon. USC/UCLA To Big Ten!
There will be plenty of fireworks and grill marks as I take a peek at the entire sports landscape here on the latest holiday edition of the podcast. On deck:
(4:44) There was plenty of wheeling and dealing in the NBA over the past week, with supermax deals handed out left and right (i.e. Nikola Jokic, Devin Booker, Zion Williamson, to name a few) but the big story was Kevin Durant requesting to be traded from the Brooklyn Nets. Who's to blame in all of this? Is it KD? The Nets? I'll have a full commentary on all of this, especially what the hierarchy of the Nets should do, if they haven't done so already, in order to keep the peace and rebuild their relationships with KD & Kyrie. The other newsworthy note in the Association was the Timberwolves trading a boatload of players and #1 picks to Utah for Rudy Gobert. Was this deal too expensive for the Timberwolves blood? Is Gobert even a good fit with this roster? I'll also share my thoughts on the Celtics shrewd deal to bring in Malcolm Brogdon from the Pacers. Although it comes with a caveat that is concerning.
(31:27) We're just about at the halfway mark of the baseball season. The All-Star Break is two weeks away. The Dodgers squandered a golden opportunity for a four game sweep of the rival Padres, but San Diego saved face as they beat up closer, Craig Kimbrel. The White Sox are looking to make a push as they come off of a sweep in San Francisco with a home date with the division leading Twins. I'll tell you what's going on in the NL Central. The Mets and Braves are a week away from re-acquainting themselves during this 2022 season. The AL East is a logjam after the first place Yankees and the Astros are in another stratosphere at the moment as the hottest team in the sport as I dissect both leagues to see where we're at about 81 games into the schedule.
(42:16) Wimbledon is into its second week of competition. The stunning news from the tournament was Iga Swiatek having her 37 match streak snapped against Alize Cornet on the women's side. Also, Coco Gauff has lost, leaving the possibility of Harmony Tan (who beat Serena Williams last week) to become the Cinderella at the All England Club. On the men's side, Carlos Alcaraz will not have a date with Novak Djokovic, but it's Jannik Sinner (CORRECTION: I said Skinner during the pod, not Sinner. My apologies for the error) who has that distinction. The guy who's making most of the headlines is Nick Kyrgios, who's temperament and attitude was the story of the weekend. Is he all bark and no bite? Can he make his way to the final?
(48:09) Both USC & UCLA will pack their bags and join the Big 10 in 2024. What does this mean for the PAC-12? Will there be a merger of conferences down the road? Is this the beginning of the end for the sport on a whole?
(53:43) The NHL Draft and free agency is upcoming. The impact is already taking place in Tampa Bay as they had to free up money and make a tough move by trading defenseman Ryan McDonagh to the Nashville Predators. I'll also get into the Class of 2022 Hall of Fame as the Sedin twins (Daniel & Henrik), Roberto Luongo and Daniel Alfredsson will be enshrined in Toronto. Why I feel none of the above are worthy of being Hall of Famers.
(59:59) Branden Grace makes history by becoming the first player to win a LIV Golf Event in the US. Did anyone watch? Does anyone care?
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Intro/outro music by Cyklonus.