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Summer is officially days away, but the latest podcast is right now as I’ve got plenty to ramble about when it comes to what’s going on in sports. On deck:
(:45) I would’ve been remiss if I didn’t start the podcast by not acknowledging the woman who gave birth to me as it’s her birthday today. So I had to kick off the podcast sending her a birthday wish!
(1:34) There was a thrilling end to the third Grand Slam of golf this year as we have to ask ourselves, did Bryson Dechambeau win the US Open? Or did Rory McIlroy lose it? I’ll breakdown those final few holes that went awry for McIlroy and the epic shot by Dechambeau which won him his second Open in five years.
(20:05) Sweeps were averted in the NBA and Stanley Cup Finals, but there are some scary similarities between the Dallas Mavericks and Edmonton Oilers, who avoided getting swept with resounding Game 4 wins. Does that bode well for both teams going into buildings ready to celebrate championships? I’ll also talk about Charles Barkley retiring from TNT after next year. And what will the new Utah hockey team be called starting this fall?
(41:24) Baseball had some interesting storylines over the past few days. The Orioles took two of three against the Phillies. Some key injuries to contenders (O’s pitcher Kyle Bradish, Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto & INF Mookie Betts) Seattle’s sweep over Texas. An umpire under investigation for gambling and some big series this week, headlined by Orioles-Yankees and Mariners-Guardians.
(56:35) Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence is the latest quarterback to get paid matching Joe Burrow’s contract of $275 million dollars. Is he worth it? Is this a case of what the market price for a QB in 2024?
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let’s get this Sports podcast party started all right the Jrs podcast what is happening my good people greetings how are you how’s it going how’s everybody doing out there what is the latest and greatest hope everybody’s doing well feeling fantastic in excellent Spirits summer is officially days away but the latest podcast is here now as I Babble and ramble about everything that’s going on in sports as this is the JS podcast with your host JS for my first timers welcome aboard and for those been banging with me going back to the very beginning somewhere in the middle or even as early as this past Thursday I welcome you guys and G back and have another birthday shout out which is an absolute must I won’t give her age out but today is my mom’s birthday and a big one at that I’ll just leave it right there happy birthday Ma hope you enjoy this day to the fullest with many many more to come just so you know that your son loves you here from New York all the way down to Puerto Rico where she resides and I’m sure she’s probably just boiling down there as much as she detests the heat the just humidity Etc but that’s all right it’s going to be hot and humid here in the Northeast the heat wave is arriving and I’m loving it summer as I mentioned just a few days away and let me just put all that aside because there’s a lot of other things that are happening in the World of Sports that’s certainly hot and the first one I’ll get to the NBA I’ll get to the St Cup finals some interesting parallels there obviously baseball and even Trevor Lawrence but if there’s someone that’s hot right about now and I don’t care if he slept in an ice bucket ice bath you name it but has anybody seen Roy maroy since he drove out of that parking lot and Pinehurst 2 down in South Carolina late afternoon early evening yesterday because if there’s anybody that is steaming and just has smoke coming out of his ears but the only person that he could blame is himself and I don’t want to pile on Rory here because he played magnificently up until he got to the 15th hole and before I even get to that I know the golf course played a huge Factor throughout the course of the weekend as evidenced by the scores unlike the PGA last month where you just saw scores in the 20s as far as players shooting so many strokes under alander shley what it was the 21 under when it was all said and done and then you have yesterday and pretty much throughout the course of the weekend where everybody was hovering around four five six under even Bryson D Shambo who started yesterday’s round at 7 under and that was the highest anybody had gotten throughout the course of the weekend as a matter of fact I believe now that I think about it Rory was at eight under had a two-stroke lead with five to go a just total gag job on his part but the golf course did stay true to what we talked about on Thursday certainly the antithesis of what we saw there last month at Valhalla with the PGA and now you had a scenario going into the weekend where the players at the top of the leaderboard whether your name is Patrick Klay whether your name is obviously Rory mroy Bryson dambo made a late run there on Saturday which put him at the top and had a three-stroke lead going into yesterday’s last round you had Ludwig auberg who also was at the top going into Saturday but then he fell apart he shot 73 Saturday and yesterday and fell out of the top of the leaderboard and that’s pretty much set the stage for yesterday and everybody no matter who it was whether it was Patrick Klay whether it was Tony Fen now but everybody looked at the dambo and possibly Rory maroy going mono on Mano for whoever was going to come out of this tournament alive and raised the trophy above their heads and we all know that the mooy his story with everything that has transpired over the past decade not being able to win a grand slam after winning four pretty much right out of the gate and having this long drought to get to this point where although he was three Strokes behind starting yesterday but a lot of people thought momentum good spirits getting back together and reconciling with his wife so he doesn’t have that piano on his back heading into the weekend or in particular heading into yesterday’s last round and as it was he was per just putting on a performance there where he birdied three holes there from Holes eight to 13 which set up those last five holes and unfortunately for him set him into a deep hole where like I mentioned at the top has anybody found him since around 650 last night and for mooy let’s just get right to it it looked like he was going to win this tournament considering that he had a two-stroke lead with five holes to go and his putter which we all know can be up and down and especially from 4 feet in he is automatic now I understand you can say it for a lot of golfers but when the game gets a little bit tight and you know you have to make those shots this is where maroy gets in trouble I remember one year at the Masters I believe going back to I think 2015 to 16 off the top of my head having a lead going into the final round and his putter amongst all of his other clubs just went a ride and now you had a scenario where he was in great shape knowing that he just had to get through the last five holes and what happened 15 16 and 18 in particular from 4 feet in gagged on putts where he should have been able to do that with his eyes closed and that had dambo just a little bit of some light where he was able to go through the door and let’s get right to it on 18 where his t-shot went to the left same for maroy for that matter but not only was that second shot by D Shambo as he was trying to make his approach to the green went into the bunker and you think he just oh jeez he’s going to have to have probably one of the most perfect shots that you could ever imagine a golfer could have and sure enough deep in that bunker 55 ft from the hole what did he do he put it around 4 feet close to the cup where he even said in the postmatch interview that it was the best shot that he had of his life and he needed that because who knows with the way those greens are and it looks like it was on a spoon where it could have rolled left it could have rolled right it could have went 10 feet it could have gone 15 feet Etc but it happened to fall right where it absolutely had to and then for him to just drop it in final shot to win the tournament where you saw Rory in the clubhouse where he just got up and left knowing that with that approach there by D Shambo and falling that short I’m sure from that point on maroy had to be sick to his stomach and I get it that he could probably looked to D Shambo today and obviously nobody has spoken to him since he left yesterday’s per performance and yesterday’s tournament offens in the night did not speak to anybody in the media did not were were unable to get a quote and that’s a bad job on his part I’ll get to that in a second but the only person he can blame is himself and I’m sure he’s kicking himself and I’m sure he has not slept a wink since last night but for D Shambo to make that shot that’s going to be one that’s going to be remembered forever because not only that shot that he had to get away from the tree which let led to the bunker and you probably thought to yourself he may end up going into a playoff with mroy but that shot was just as beautiful as you could possibly get and see just an unbelievable shot there by dambo which set him up for the putt to win the tournament his second Us open in the last 5 years he did win in 2020 pretty much right up the road in m marinic a wing foot and D Shambo he’s a guy that I haven’t really liked over the years but considering ing what happened there at the Ryder Cup with he and Brooks Kea kind of mending the fenes thanks to Justin Thomas and him having a little bit more of a personality not to say that he’s bombastic or not to say that he’s a guy that you would just want to uh push away because he’s just too pompous obviously these players have an ego as we all know but D Shambo over the last couple of years has repaired a little bit of that image that he’s had as just a guy that just grips it and rip rips it a guy that just wants to muscle his way throughout the golf course a guy that just wants to put a strangle hold on wherever it is that he plays and just pretty much suffocate the rest of the field and even with him jumping to live and him being a guy that over the last couple of years maybe live who knows maybe it tumbled him a little bit maybe he’s had a little bit more of a personality if you saw that last month with in the PGA where the one golf ball I believe he threw into the crowd and he said no give it to the kid and and certainly looked very personable and very down to earth and even likable in that matter and even yesterday in the postmatch all the things that he said unbelievable shot gave nothing but kudos to Roy Mary threw him his flowers despite the fact that that was in defeat and dambo what more can you say we know he’s a top player we know he’s a guy yes did he jump for the money at live and I guess you can’t even question that considering if they’re going to throw you boatloads of money you’re going to take it and even though he’ll still play in these major tournaments obviously we’ll see him next month there barring any injuries or anything crazy at the British Open but just a magnificent moment for dambo to come out on top and even not to say that by any means this sticks it to Rory but sometimes Karma as I like to say never forgets an address and I’m not trying to say that maroy deserved to lose but you’d have to think that to me in watching what unfolded he spent the it he gagged and even though D Shambo made the shot of his life and he earned that Championship but let’s face it maroy should have won this tournament and for all the things that he said when Liv and PGA were trying to work out a deal or even when before that when Liv was just plucking players or taking players left and right and what he said about the live golf league and oh I would never go there and all the things that he said not to rehash all that and even though he had to temper that here over the last year or so and somewhat welcome them with open arms maybe reluctantly but for everything that led up until yesterday and you have to wonder whether or not that the golf CS looked at maroy and said not only are you not going to win this tournament but you’re going to have a guy that jumped to the other league and a league that you just railed left and right to have him come out on top is even going to make you sicker and just another devastating loss and maroy has now lost two US opens by just one stroke cuz he lost last year to wam Clark out in LA but obviously not in this type of fashion where he had the lead late in the back nine and for him to just throw up all over himself and not only that but on top of just losing the tournament and not making just simple putts or at least what we would see it’s easy for us to say that on our living room sofa but for a guy as good as he’s been and yes is he one of the top five seven golfers in the world absolutely it doesn’t show on the score sheet when it comes to major tournaments as we know which for whatever the reason is confounding to me because this is a guy that should at least have won maybe somewhere in a vicinity 7 eight maybe even close to 10 and that may be a little bit of a stretch but let’s just double his output he has the four majes that he’s won you would think that he would have at least seven or eight by now and he has not won since going back to to the 2014 year and now you have a scenario where he didn’t even meet the media which is an awful job by him and I get it he is just distraught despondent and probably had no words but you know what you take a few minutes you suck it up have a glass of water maybe even take a sip of a beer or two or a couple of sips of a beer maybe a beer or two would have been too much he probably would have laid it all out the line and probably would still be talking at this moment and listen I don’t know if he’s a drinker or not so got to give him that respect but let’s just say for argument sake just take a moment regroup face the music and that’s that now he goes off into the night we don’t know where he’s at for all we know he’s probably even out of the country and it’s a scenario where he’s going to have to answer these questions whether it’s the next tournament or even next month at the British where this is all going to dredge up again and they’re going to ask him how did you feel what happened what happened on 15 16 and 18 and he’s going to have to relive this thing all over again and I understand it’s easy for me to say that because I’m not the one that lost this tournament but that’s what I mean regroup get it together find a way find or just even come out with a statement say hey guys I’m not going to feel questions but this was all on me I just gagged here in the biggest spot that I’ve had in quite some time I don’t really have much else to say I’ll answer questions later on if you would have said that at least you would have gotten an answer or at least some responses as to what happened there over the last four holes of this tournament and and now he goes wherever he’s at on this planet to the point where one more time he’s going to have to answer to the media to the critics to everybody whenever that may be and who knows if he’s going to do that I would think he would do that at the next tournament whatever that is I’m sure there’s probably one this coming weekend or the following and it’s just a shame that it has to come down to this for him but he made his bed now he has to line in it and now it’s even worse because everybody Must Be Wondering how is he doing first and foremost and I mean that with all sincerity even though I started off with that tongue and cheek as far as has anybody seen Roy mroy but hey let’s hope that he’s okay let’s hope that he’s just kind of getting it together getting his thoughts Etc who knows if he’s going to come out with some sort of statement or tweet or whatever and even then he’s still going to have to answer to the media at some point because it’s not as if he could come out with a newspaper ad or come out with the post of all time whether it’s on Instagram social media Etc but it’s still not going to be the same as if he were to face the music meet the media and just answer it all in one shot and then hopefully try to erase it as fast as he possibly can and what more can you say just a terrible job by mroy I don’t know what was in his head at that time maybe he had some snakes in his head knowing that he was that close and maybe he was just so pumped up knowing that he had a two-stroke lead and certainly had Destiny in his own hands and he just just let it sleep away I don’t know but it definitely does show that the mental and even testicular fortitude for one Roy maroy is fragile he should have put that tournament away and that’s all I’ll say about that I can go into it a little bit deeper I know we could get on maybe a guy like lwood ludwood auberg who had the lead there come into the weekend but he still had two rounds to go and like I said he shot 73 both Saturday Sunday all right fine Scotty sheffler he barely made the cut lucky for him that he did and I don’t know if there was any after effects from what happened there at the PGA and again that was last month so I’m not going to get too wrapped up into that but considering Sheffer was nowhere to be found on the tournament throughout the course of the weekend well hey I guess you just chalk it up to a maybe the golf course itself or B just not playing up to sheffer’s ability and what we’ve seen from him so far and that’s another thing about sheff that you have to wonder about because yes he’s one to two master and yes we want to see him win another major outside of the Masters and here it was the PGA I get it the Friday gets arrested he shot well that day but in Saturday it went a r for him and then he did recoup on Sunday but was nowhere near the top of the leaderboard and then here forget about it he was might as well have been cast with the ghost because he was nowhere to be found throughout the four days down at pineur 2 in South Carolina so there’s questions about Sheffer whether or not he’s a guy that yes he starts off his years great and he did win at the memorials we talked about on last Monday’s podcast Jack Nicholas’s tournament there and a lot of people thought maybe the momentum going in would be good for him considering what happened at the PGA but again the Invisible Man Claude Reigns and for sheffler you have to even wonder a little bit whether or not he starts out of the gate fast in these tournaments especially as we’ve seen here with the Masters but now we’re already three tournaments in one one more major to go as I mentioned of course the open or the British Open formerly known as the British Open and now let’s see what he’s going to do here between now and then I’m sure he’s going to probably play in a couple of tournaments maybe he’ll generate more Buzz win another tournament or two and you feel like all right let’s see if Scotty sh is going to be back on the beam here and then who knows what’s going to happen when we get to the middle of next month and then tiger for everything that he said and I’m not going to pile on tiger I already said what I had to say about him on Thursday’s podcast and even going back to the G did not make the cut I get it that he was trying to look at this tournament knowing that it was going to be in warm weather it was going to be a mostly flat course in fact it was all flat where you didn’t have to worry about walking up and down Hills or have to worry about warming up to get ready for his tea time or anything like that the warm weather obviously you’re going to just wake up have a bottle of water and Let It Go but for Tiger not making the cut and there was a lot of others Max Homan didn’t make the cut a lot of other Big Time golfers same status for them but for Tiger who not to say he came in thinking that he was going to win the tournament and of course he is Tiger Woods he’s going to paint it however he wants to and he has the right to even at the age of 48 years of age and all of the surgeries and the injuries and everything that’s pretty much kept him sideline and has made himself a shell of his old self not making the cut are you surprised because he’s tiger maybe a little bit but at the same time this is Tiger pretty much since the Masters in 2019 and obviously he had the car accident in 2021 he has not been the same player and who knows if we’re ever going to see that guy again and I’m going to go down that road right now so I don’t want to do that but tiger not making the cut no surprise and let’s see if he’s going to even go across the pond to play in the open because as we all know you’re going to have 50° days you’re going to have Bluster days you’re going to have windy rainy days and that’s definitely not going to be conducive for Tiger his body and get himself prepared and ready to go yeah maybe between the ears but the body probably will tell him tiger not today so we’ll have to wait and see on whether or not he’s going to participate there and it was a thrilling ending what more can you say dbo makes a great shot maroy as I’ve stated several times here over the first what 20 minutes here but just an awful job and let’s see if maroy is going to be able to regroup and see if he could get himself and muster enough mental spiritual psychological energy because we know the physical ability is there but the other three after mentioned we have to see whether or not he’s going to be Prim and ready to go and who knows maybe the golf CS will have something in it for him to where he’ll go to the British and next thing you know he’ll be able to raise the trophy and finally snap this 10year hex of him not winning a major tournament so I had to start off there because that was just a thrilling ending to that tournament especially with Rory there and everything that surrounds him of course I had to bring that up now as I put my golf clubs away and lace up the high tops and even the skates for this first part be it will be separate when I talk NBA finals and Stanley Cup finals but there are the parallels as I’m about to explain here and one of the parallels happens to be the two teams that were the favorites going into the series whether it was the Celtics in the NBA or the Florida Panthers in the NHL and both of them did get off to three leads we talked about it on Thursday how the Celtics did win the night prior to the podcast on Thursday they went up 3 0 and a lot of people thought including myself it could possibly be a sweep and with the Panthers winning on Thursday night where they had a 4-1 lead in Edmonton but then they had to hang on there and was able to get game three and you thought to yourself oh God this is going to be short series I’m sure the Commissioners Adam Silver Gary bman right now as I like to say choking on the 7on Blanc knowing that they’re not going to get any length in this SE series not that they’re going to get anything close to even a sixth game let alone a fifth game well they did get a fifth game and here where the parallels begin you have the two underdogs where the Mavericks have of course Luca and Kyrie but I’m going to stick to Luca for a moment this is his first Finals we know that he’s a top two three player in the league future MVP he not won an MVP just yet but we know the impact that Luca has in his sport maybe not amongst the levels that we’ve seen Conor McDavid in his sport he’s won three MVPs and obviously luuka hasn’t and off the top of my head I believe McDavid is about a year or two older than Luca and not to say that Luca is in that same Stratosphere but it’s being one of the best players in the sport for Luca as well as McDavid being the best player in the sport and for Evon getting to a cup final first time St Fuca and now both in three holes wondering are they going to be able to win a game in the series this is their first experience first score round against teams that have been to a final Celtics 2 years ago and of course the Panthers last year that you had all this just combined and made it for a fascinating storyline to where now we have an even deeper parallel because you had the game four the Mavericks just paced the Celtics ran them out of the gym and the Celtics were in the game early first 6 minutes they were down by a point I believe it was what they had an 11 10 lead and then after that it just the wheels fell off to the point where Luca after him getting blasted in game three by the Press including Brian Windor and I commend him for his assessment of Luca donic just wanting to get fouls just talking to the bench saying you better challenge this whatever acting like a spoiled baby let’s face it but forca who had 29 points did not shoot well which is typical of Luca not that he has a great shooting percentage but 12 for 26 29 Points obviously sat the whole fourth quarter 0 for eight from three so people could look at what he did in the first half and I get it he set the tone obviously with his elbows and his shoulders and just trying to draw contact typical Luca but not have a great game I know Kyrie had 21 much more efficient in his shooting a lot of contributions you saw the Ali oops you saw the dunks the Derek livley of the world and you even had contributions from other players who had not made contributions in this series for the Dallas Mavericks and and it was pretty much a laugher from the Midway point of the second quarter throughout 6135 at the half 35 points for the Celtics at halftime I mean think about that to the point where they were down by 48 halfway through the fourth quarter Celtics I don’t know what happened there the preparation maybe they checked out in the second quarter thinking that oh we could just go home and win which is dangerous very dangerous I might add despite the fact they’re up three 0 but for a team that was looking to close out and a championship I think it was the third worst deficit in the history of the NBA finals which come on I don’t know what happened there and I get it they were Blitz creeped by the Mavericks but boy there was just a lack of everything on the Celtics and all right that’s a game you just flush throw it away don’t even look at the tape you already know how bad it is but let’s just keep that in mind because then now I’m going to tie this in with the Florida Panthers now the Panthers win that game number three and they had to hang on there for de life I know they got the two goals there in the third they were up 4-1 Edmonton scores twice and then they had that play with a couple of minutes too where McDavid was in the crease passed it right in front went through the legs of Sergey barski and then Ryan McLoud had a point blank shot which if that would have gone in if they would have scored there and tied the game I thought Edmonton was going to win the game but as it was they were able to hang on Florida wins 4-3 and then Saturday night Edon gets right out of the gate they scor two goals and then you thought to yourself whomever scores that next goal whether it be Florida or Edmonton that was going to be a huge goal and as it was Vladimir Tarasenko who’s actually played pretty well here in this series scored that goal made it 2-1 and then you really thought uhoh is this where Edmonton now is going to start to just fold like a cheap suit as it was they did get the goal later on I believe that was Dylan Holloway to make it 3-1 and he scored two goals in a game and that was just minutes right after but for then Edmonton at that point on then it just took over Conor McDavid finally got his first ever Stanley Cup final goal 4-1 and then they just piled it on to the point where they won 8 to1 going away they even pulled Ser Browski the Panthers after the fifth goal and they just figured up let’s just mail it in we’ll put our tail between our legs we’re still up 3-1 we got the road game and we’ll try to go back home and win a Stanley Cup Championship and now this is where the parallels come back how I feel if you’re the Celtics and the Panthers those were games one more time you don’t even watch the tape you flush it you don’t even think about it that is it now if you’re Dallas and Edmonton you kind of wish that you could save some of those goals or points for game five because obviously you got to go on the road you have to go into hostile territory to the point where there’s going to be a coronation before the coronation Begins the fan bases in Boston and sunrise they’re going to be primed and ready to go to celebrate and especially for the Celtics and even more so for the Panthers because they’ve never won a Stanley Cup Championship so that I can even understand more for them granted that they only been around 30 years well the Celtics have been around since day one but they haven’t won a title since 2008 and then the iron and I mentioned this on last Monday’s podcast you can check the receipts today is the 16th anniversary of the Celtic last NBA championship against the Lakers 13293 J June 17th 2008 so maybe there’s an omen and Synergy there where the Celtics will put the lid on the NBA season tonight as a Celtic fan only one could hope so and I’ll get into different particulars about what will happen game five for both sports but for the parallels I think both Dallas and Edmonton because of what happened in game four for both of them they are going to be going up you know what [ __ ] creek without a paddle and that’s not a guarantee that’s not to say that they’re going to automatically lose and get blown out in these games but if Dallas and Edmonton won let’s say close games where 4-3 for Edmonton or let’s say 110 109 for Dallas give these Celtics something to think about all right they’re going home home court advantage ready to celebrate a championship for each team but because there were blowouts those are games that you could just easily wash away those aren’t a game those aren’t the type of games that are going to stick to your ribs or stick to your stomach to the point where H man we should have won that game oh man we were that close yes embarrassing as it was for both teams but that’s something that’s going to sit with them think about it for both teams Dallas oh excuse me for Boston and Florida for three days so now as you get to tonight’s game five before I get to tomorrow tonight you have a scenario where everything is aligned we talked about the 16 year anniversary Etc I can see the Celtics they know that they do not want to get on the plane to go back to Dallas they’ve been down this road before from a standpoint of being down 03 in a series last year against the Miami Heat they talked about that in the previous series with the Indiana Pacers and I’m sure the last thing you want to do is give Dallas life and if Dallas is in the game in the fourth quarter let’s say within two baskets so and I’m talking about two threes so if they’re down six with five minutes to go watch out they are going to have to go back to the game plan of attacking Luca that’s why he fouled out in game three as it was they’re going to have to play defense the way they did especially in game one who knows what’s going to happen with Chris aspor zingis right now it’s a toss up I would think he’s not going to play more so than he will play and we know how much of a factor he’s been in the two games that he played especially with those first two being at home and them winning for the most part comfortably so for the Mavericks I know they’re going into a hornets nest tonight they’re going to have to get those contributions that they got in game four from the players such as Derek Lively PJ Washington Derek Jones Jr how about Tim Hardway who finally dusted off the morth balls and had five threes in 6 minutes you’re going to need to get that type of performance if you’re the Mavericks in order for you to survive and go back to Big D with a win and maybe quite possibly push this to a seventh game but I really think this is going to be I don’t know want to say it’s going to be a toall order but that crowd is going to be just buzzing they are going to be ready to celebrate they have not had a chance to celebrate a title like I said in 16 years and going back to 2010 not winning that title against the Lakers obviously two years ago where they had a game six in their building where the Golden State Warriors won a championship on that floor and now here it is this is their moment to win this game I’m sure this is all the players could focus on could there be some pressure could there be some tightness I think there’ll only be tightness if you get into the second half and either they’re trailing or the Mavericks are within Striking Distance other than that I can see them blowing this not blowing the game I can see them blowing out the Mavericks here tonight not to say it’ll be early but maybe even late I can almost see a game one effect and I would think porzingis he’s going to try to do his best even just to do or play five or eight minutes or whatever you could give him because I think whatever shot in the arm that porzingis could give them could be that boost that the Celtics would need in order for them to win just look what happened in game one he did his own Willis re impersonation not coming out for warm-ups and then he came out the crowd got threes blocks Etc if he could do just a quarter of that in tonight’s game I think that will bold well for the Celtics and I’d be I don’t want to say shocked because again there is that part of me and I’ve said this all along that doesn’t trust this team but I would think with the three days off after being embarrassed day on Friday night that they will seal the deal and win a championship tonight and as far as the Panthers go I think it’s the same scenario now Edmonton after game three Leon dry side I believe was the one that said that we could do it we could one game at a time one shift at a time Etc and they have the Firepower but Edmonton is kind of like the Celtics in that regard where you don’t know which team’s going to show up and I’m sure tomorrow night down in Sunrise Florida they’re going to be ready to celebrate a first ever championship and if you’re Edmonton you’re going to have to stem that tide in those first few minutes and more importantly and I get it they are Jael and high so you don’t know but they’re going to have to jump out to a lead here because I think if they go down one- nothing it’ll be two nothing quick and then if they’re down two nothing Florida is just going to impose their will U McDavid dry Sidle zackman Etc so they’re going to have to play for him in front and they’re going to have to play for him in front throughout because even if it’s two nothing and they tie the game all the momentum is going to be on the panther side and I don’t know if I trust Edmonton and granted they’ve had their moments remember they survived game seven in Vancouver they’ve won big games that they absolutely had to have throughout the course of this Stanley Cup run and as they did they won game four okay fine they blew him out so they did not only save face but show some pride but now this is where it’s really going to be the ultimate test for them whether or not they’re going to try to jump on the Panthers quick fast hurry and in a and in an early fashion or are they just going to kind of play at their Pace or be that boxer where it’s like all right let’s see how they’re going to come out how we’re going to no they’re going to have to play aggressive from the start so for Edmonton I think this is also going to be a tough scenario I think the Panthers are going to win tomorrow night I’d be shocked this case I’d be shocked I actually be more shocked if Edmonton were to win a game five than Dallas would have win a game five so that’s how I’m going to look at both of those series I think they’re going to be done by the time we get to the podcast on Thursday and to think if we do get to Thursday’s podcast that will be game six in Dallas if the Celtics were to lose tonight and then if the Panthers were to lose you’ll have game seven in nmon on Friday so the rest of that schedule all you got to do is just tack on three more days where if we do get to a game seven and heaven forbid in the NBA final that will be Sunday and then for the Stanley Cup Final that’ll be a week from tonight so we’ll have to wait and see on that so that’s what we have there with both the Finals NBA and Stanley Cup let me see if there’s anything else I need to add on to that well there’s some NBA notes that I’ll get to in a second and NHL as well so I’ll touch on that in a moment but it’s all right in front of for the Panthers in the Celtics they know what they need to do I would think they’re going to do what they have to in order for them to secure their titles and then we can move on to the draft which is in a couple of weeks and get ourselves ready for baseball because you would think by the time we get to Thursday’s podcast both fall and winter sports will be Kut over and out so we’ll continue to monitor that as you well know and I’m going to say this and I know that I’m a C I’m a crazed lunatic when it comes to my teams and being a sports fan and I know tonight I could already see it because I saw it in game one where Mark Walberg was in the building game one of the finals and where was he game four where his brother Donnie in Indiana who was at all the games and he’s a guy that’s been at Celtic games when the Celtics were bad and for let’s see Mark Wahlberg I could see it on the court there celebrating with Jaylen Brown Jason Tatum if it just so happens to be that way tonight and that just burns me I’m sorry people I get it oh why can’t these celebrities or they could just parachute in when they want who are you to say J res what kind of fan they should be maybe they just like the game of basketball I’ve gotten on Ryan Reynolds in the past being in the Press Box with I understand his wife Blake Lively in the connection with Taylor Swift when I’ve said to Ryan Reynolds then and I’ll say it to him now does he know the difference between a forward pass and a lateral and Mark Wahlberg yeah Celtic fan but he parachutes in and out we see him at the Super Bowls when they won with the Patriots Yeah but was he in the seats there when M Jones was throwing an interception in Buffalo in the playoffs a couple years ago or or at any of the Patriot Games in the last couple of years when they were at the bottom of the AFC e chances are probably not and I get it people could get on my case and say oh well J res you need to pipe down you need to just stop talking about that yeah you may be a c but you can’t tell or these people have their own lives yeah but you know what when you show up at a coronation or you show up at a game one where it’s like hey I haven’t been here all year so let me show up now Spike Lee is at all the Nick games Jack Nicholson is at the Laker games so all right I understand schedule you’re filming you’re doing this you’re doing that but you know what hey you got to be there for a certain game you got to be there and don’t show up at a game one or don’t show up when you feel like it show up when hey I got to be there even when my team is bad and from Mark wallberg we haven’t seen that so unless I see him in the Luxury Box at Gillette when they’re 4 and seven and the Jets are coming to town I don’t want to hear it so I’ll just leave it at that uh you also have Charles Barkley who has one more year left 2024 25 TN the contract as we know will and I don’t think it’s been official as of yet or at least hasn’t been reported as official but TNT will have the rights to the NBA games this is going to be the last year the following year looks like it’s going to be Amazon and NBC that will have the package as well as ESPN and ABC so Barkley did say and the post game of Celtics Mavs game four to Steve Smith and to the guys at the desk there that he was going to retire that he was going to pass the Baton to the Steve Smiths to the Jamal crawfords of the world to where he feels like that’s it he’s done his time with TNT obviously he’s had a great run as we all know we don’t have to get into all their accolades Inside the NBA and what they’ve done and what they’ve meant to not only the network but also to the sport with EJ Kenny Shaq Etc and Kudos we know Barkley he’s great he speaks what’s on his mind doesn’t pull any punches but the one thing that I have that lets say after next year we know he’s made a ton of money and he’s certainly not crying broke by any stretch but you do have to wonder will the Amazon or the NBCS of the world will they dangle that I’m not going to say blank check but Charles what will we get you to come back to the studio what is it 20 million a year 25 30 who knows obviously he’s a guy that’s been loyal and I think that’s one of the reasons why he feels that it’s good for him to retire after next year because he knows that the contract contct is up he knows that EJ is going to stay at TNT he’s been an institution there as far as Kenny Shaq who knows what they have planned and Charles is saying it right now which is great but this time next year if somebody’s going to dangle that carrot will he bite that’s all I have to say about that and who knows he probably won’t bite but maybe down the road after that if he’s bored or maybe who knows he’s chopping at the bit and one of those networks are going to push forward that check right across the table with a contract to say hey Charles what do you think I’m sure it may be too tough for him to pass off especially if it’s going to be a Godfather offer for him to come back to TV but kudos to Barkley and announcing his retirement there and let’s see we have one more year with them so it’s not as if he’s saying goodbye or at least see you later in the not too distant future and as far as the NHL I know the Utah hockey team they had all these different names I talked about this weeks ago and right now they’re settling on the temporary name which is the Utah Hockey Club which I’m fine with so they’re going to be the Washington football team of the NHL at least for one year and I didn’t like a lot of the names that they came up with as far as what their new team name was going to be the one that I lik was the Utah canyons and I understand maybe that’s a little bit too I’ll say descriptive because of course a lot of people may use that as a suggestively sexual connotation I’ll just leave it at that but I like the Canyons for whatever the reason and not because of what it may sound but to me that’s a lot better than the yeti the blizzard the ice the Mountaineers Utah Mountaineers that doesn’t really have a ring Utah Canyons at least has a little bit of a ring and that’s just a few that I read there’s some others that were just to me H did not have a good ring did not roll a the tongue like I said Utah Mountaineers I mean and of course i’ exaggerated that but for Utah it’s going to be the hockey club so we’ll see what happens as they move it along obviously none of the names stuck with them so that’s what you have there with the NBA and NHL as we move it along now let me get into the Batters box as I take a sip of much needed water babbling away here baseball interesting week for the sport where now it’s looking to probably take a lot of the shine especially if the NBA and NHL Seasons conclude tonight and tomorrow because that’s the only sport you’re really going to have and a lot of news and notes have come out throughout the course of the weekend first one being Phillies Orioles I talked about that on Thursday Phillies won the first game actually went into extras it was 2-2 then both Philly and Baltimore scored in the top of the 10th to make it 33 three and then the Phillies got two more on the top of the 11th and then won 53 and then the Orioles pretty much took it from there winning the back to pretty comfortably 62 and 83 where Craig Kimbrell was serated by the Philly fans who drove down on 95 from Philly to Baltimore I guess what is that maybe an hour and a half car ride and for the Philly faithful to get into Kimbrell Zer and he said yeah I definitely heard it and Kimbrell as we all know he’s been a walking tight rope ever since he left Atlanta he’s bounced around here over the years from the Red Sox winning a title but certainly had to sweat that out in certain games with him going to the white socks we know he’s been all over the place Phillies last year where he did not do well in that Diamondback series and then now here with Baltimore where although he did Pitch in that game on Saturday but he came into a 6-2 game not in a 65 or 6’4 game so that was some fun there between the Philly fans and Kimbrell but the Orioles did win the back two of that game or that series excuse me and that helped them because the Yankees were in Boston and they lost the back two of their three- game set to where on Friday night they won 8-1 and it looked like it was going to be a bludgeoning for the weekend but the Red Sox did do some justice there winning on Saturday night 84 and then had nine steals in the game yesterday after Aaron Jud Aaron judge excuse me hit a bomb of a home run in the first and for the Red Sox then to come back back and steel bases all over the place they got to Marcus strowman and caros rodon did not Pitch well in his own right the night before though he has pitch well this year and is owned up to that contract that he signed two off seasons ago but the Yankees losing those two now tied in the loss at the top of the AL East but they do have three games in hand and I believe they’re a game and a half ahead of the Orioles and guess what tomorrow night Showdown number two between the O’s and Yankees at Yankee Stadium looking forward to that but the Orioles did suffer a big blow as Kyle bradish who had that UCL sprain during spring did come back and now has to go back on the ilil who knows how serious it’s going to be is it going to be a thing where it’s just going to be rest does he need surgery right now it’s early to tell I don’t know if the MRI which I’m sure he may be going through as I speak during this recording so that is one that the orial fans are going to hold their breath and we’re going to have to wait and see whether or not that he’s going to come out on the other side maybe and even pitch this year so I’ll have to stay put on that but Orioles Yankees is your series of the week Tuesday Wednesday Thursday looking forward to that and even you also have the Braves coming in this weekend to play the Yankees so an interesting week for the bombers to play a brave team that has been up and down but also still a formidable team in their own right and then obviously the Orioles to be that lipm Miss test and remember this is their second go round the Yankees lost three out of four in Baltimore earlier this year so you know they’re going to want an exact some revenge and and that is a series I’ll keep an eye on now as far as other key injuries that have happened the Dodgers Saturday had yobu Yamamoto had to be put on the ilil I don’t know if it’s a strained rotator cuff the other report I saw that it’s actually a right triceps flare up so is it a triceps or is it a forearm who knows or rotator cuff excuse me so who knows what’s going to happen there it looks like it’s going to just be rest he’s not going to pitch for two weeks so so you don’t have to worry about any red flags as far as MRIs or surgery at the moment but then you also had yesterday Muki bets gets hit in the hand fractures his hand thankfully for him no severe breaks to the point where he’s going to need surgery so for bets they do Dodge a big time missile there but at the same time he’s going to be out for a significant amount of time and it’s indefinite as to how long he’s going to be out and you would think that if it’s going to be a fractured hand it’s it’s probably going to be minimum four to six weeks maybe more six than four and that’s going to be a huge loss to a team as we all know with he Freeman and Otani as well as Will Smith and their lineup is with that top three not really that deep because you have guys that at the bottom of the order could be pitched to so let’s see what his absence is going to mean now it’s not going to mean much as far as the division because they had the division already intact I don’t think you’re going to see any worries especially after the Padre’s got swept by the Mets of all teams over the weekend and that was just a nightmare for the Padres they go down to Turnpike to play the Phillies which is an interesting Series this week but the Dodgers are in no danger of losing the division but the one thing you do have to keep an eye on is maybe quite possibly a two seed in the NL and I understand it’s way too early to even get into that but you do have to take a look considering that the Dodgers they’ve had their moments but they haven’t really clicked on all cylinders and they’ve been the Dodger team that you would think is going to reel off 100 anywhere between 100 to 105 wins this year but currently they are 44 and 29 but you do have the Brewers at 42 and 29 so think about it if the Brewers somehow get the two seed and maybe that would bode well for the Dodgers considering what happened last year had the best record in the sport and what did that get them a sweep at the hands of the Arizona Diamondbacks in the division series so I don’t know if there’s going to be any urgency for them to win or at least to get the two seed and it’s way too early to even get into that I’m sure if somebody threw that question that Dave Roberts he may even roll his eyes but it’s a legitimate question considering what has happened here with these teams that have gotten those top two seeds whether your name are the Baltimore Orioles we saw what happened there last year got swept by the Texas Rangers or the Braves as we’ve seen the last two years getting beat by the Phillies in the division series after getting the one of the top two seeds and having the buy so it’s a legitimate question even here on June 17th but for the Dodgers that’s the one thing you have to keep an eye on so check that receipt later on down the road on whether or not bets loss is going to have them slip when it comes to the two and three seed there in the National League because as we all know they have what a nine game and a loss over San Diego and eight back are the Padres of the Dodgers so yes nothing really to go crazy about there if you’re La other than that yeah let’s talk about the Astros real quick because they’ve been in the news where they let go released Jose Abu the former MVP at that time of the Chicago White Socks and boy talk about a career that has really falling off of a cliff I thought when they signed Jose Abu and this was after they won the World Series in 2022 I thought that was a fantastic signing a guy that you could just plug into that lineup big popper is going to hit minimum 30 home runs in his sleep and since he’s been a part of the Astros he’s done nothing to the point where they had to send him down earlier this year and I guess he still hasn’t come out of it to where they released him now they owe him 30 million thankfully the contract was pretty much favorable I believe at the time it was what 3 years at 51 maybe even $54 million so it wasn’t as if they broke the bank gave them a five for 100 where they’re still on the hook for another 3 and2 years years they only have another year and a half to pay that 30 million so not decimating their payroll or their circumstances but that was one that I’m sure surprisingly to them and even to me that came out of nowhere so Abu let’s see where he ends up I’m sure he’s probably going to end up on a team that maybe is going to need some offense off the top of my head maybe a team that’s young whether it’s a red team that is in the mix with a wild card who knows but a brave I’m sure he’ll resurface somewhere but definitely has fallen just on hard times when it comes to what he’s been able to do throughout the early part and mid part of his career than the last two years in an astro uniform and I talk about just an odd story altogether speaking of the Astros ryel Blanco remember him a guy who pitched a no hitter on April Fool’s Day the earliest no hitter in the history of Major League Baseball and then what was it about 5 6 weeks ago was with sticky stuff was suspended for 10 games then a lot of people thought hey is that no hitter legitimate well of course it’s going to be legit but now had to sit out for two starts because of him finding sticky stuff on his glove or on his wrist orever it was and then he pitches yesterday against the Tigers to what seven Innings of no hit baseball so he threw 94 pitches so he wasn’t going to last even if he were to pitch into the eighth inning and let let’s say they gave it to him to where all right we’ll give you the first batter let’s see what happens no after seven Innings no hit ball I get it it’s the Tigers but Blanco talk about a topsy tury year for him throws a no hitter then gets suspended and then throws basically another no hitter but doesn’t go past the seventh inning to see whether or not that he was going to be sustainable and I can understand why they said hey let’s pull him at 94 maybe he had 94 tough pitches not all of them being tough but you know what I’m saying but that was just a just an odd Story coming out of Houston to where he was actually on the verge of pitching another no hitter and that would have been something if he did but that’s what you have there and then you had the umat hbert who was violated for or violated the gambling rules for Major League Baseball now who knows if this is going to be a scenario Allah tuap marcoo who got suspended the Padre utility infielder now it’s being investigated now they don’t know whether he bet on baseball if it’s just gambling whether he’s done it in the ballpark if they’re going to go deep into that investigation but based on what I’ve seen here it does not indicate that he bet on baseball I’m sure the investigation is ongoing but right now he has been put on ice and patberg is a guy I’m not really familiar with he’s not one of the top guys that you would see throughout the sport whether your name is Hunter wlad obviously we know about Angel Hernandez his quote unquote retirement a lot of the other big time crew chiefs in baseball that are more prominent the Todd tiers Etc so hbert let’s see what’s going to happen with his fate I just bring that up in light of what happened with marono as a player and please if hbert was stupid enough to bet on baseball as an Umpire I mean you can’t I mean it’s bad marono did it he’s a player but an Umpire yeah getting Tim Don NBA referee feelings all over again if that’s the case so let’s hope that isn’t for him and I don’t know if he came out let’s see yeah he’s also appealing the decision of course so I’m sure he probably feels that yes he probably gambled maybe on other sports maybe during the NCAA tournament who knows but we’ll see how that shakes down here over the days and weeks to come but other than that let’s see what we have with the schedule this week we talked about the two big Series in particular Orioles Yankees you do have Padre’s Phillies if you want get into that but you also have Boston going to Toronto meter in Texas now I’m not getting crazy about the metas yet people I get it they’ve won 11 of their last 15 they’re four in the 500 and I said it before and I’ll say it again let them get the 500 before we can even talk about it and as it is they’re going to Texas for three and Texas got swept by Seattle let’s get to that real quick now Texas is five games under 500 Seattle they’re 10 over and for them to get swept by the Mariners over the weekend they lost 5 nothing to punctuate that sweep I don’t know is it going to click for the Rangers this year to defending World Series champs we know that there could be some hangover with what happened last year we know no Max Scherzer we know no Jacob deg Grom who knows if they’re going to come back whether at the allstar break or soon thereafter they’re going to need them because if they’re going to have any shot to get back in this race they’re going to have to start winning some games and their offense is not CED the way it has last year of course they’re pitching Stafford and shambles so the Rangers are really going through a tough time and who knows maybe this is the Mariners year to win a division and maybe do some damage with their starting pitching so that was another series I didn’t talk about before but of course have to bring up now as we get into it but as far as the other series of note Tampa Minnesota well Tampa’s in the last place I think a Tampa because they’ve been successful over the last half dozen years but other than that you don’t really have anything to for me Seattle at Cleveland that’s a series that’s again maybe not an a plus Allah Orioles Yankees but you do have two division winners going at it so that’s going to be an interesting lit Miss test for those teams who are trying to see if they could get in where they fit in with the Orioles with the Yankees those two teams in particular Seattle not just yet because although they have made it into the playoffs over the last couple of years but they don’t have a pedigree it’s not as if they’re the Astros and we all know the Astros have been hurting as I take a quick peek at the standings when we get to July 4th which is think about it what is that two weeks from this coming Thursday I’ll start to uncover the wild card and where we’re at there but right now it’s still a little bit too early we’re not yet at the halfway point of the Season although we’re slowly approaching a lot of teams have played 71 72 73 games even 74 in some cases the Yankees 50 and 24 so once we get past July 1st and especially July 4th I’ll certainly get into what the Wild Card looks like but the divisions yeah they are not close other than the AL East by any standards Cleveland has a five-game lead seven in the loss over the Royals Seattle as I just talked about seven in the loss but 8 and a half they’re 43 and 31 I said 43 and 33 so I was two games off my apologies there but an eight and a half game lead there Phillies seven in the loss but eight in the NL East over the Braves Brewers six in the loss six and a half over the cards and the Dodgers I talked about nine in the loss and eight so other than the AL East you have some big time separation in the other five divisions in baseball so that will do it there and then to wrap up the NFL as you know I’m not even looking forward to or even thinking about it but you had a big signing there on Thursday Trevor Lawrence the latest quarterback to get his coin 5 years $275 million 200 million of that guaranteed with 142 at signing so for Trevor Lawrence who got a similar contract to Joe burrow yes so that means it’s better than Jaylen Herz better than Patrick Mahomes better than Justin Herbert so for a guy who’s won one playoff game and mind you that playoff game was maybe more on the Chargers losing and Jacksonville winning and although they played competitively well in Arrowhead the week after in the divisional game but this is just a case the market is what the market is because we all know is Trevor Lawrence worth that type of money right now based on what he’s done throughout his NFL career absolutely not I mean please at least Lamar Jackson who’s making less than that and we all know he got his bag last off season and with Lawrence making more at least you could say that Lamar Jackson has won two MVPs now he’s done nothing in the postseason as we know he’s won two playoff games and has not shown up in a big spot where Trevor Lawrence has had a taste of the postseason just once and all right he’s one in one is that all on him no but look at what happened last year they made it to the postseason and the biggest game of the year where they all they had to do was win and it would have been in they lose to the tennessy Titans a team that was already out to see Granton was at home final game for Mike Vel and for that matter Derrik Henry but still so Trevor Lawrence I get it Golden Boy number one pick has not come into the league and set it on fire let’s call it as we see it after coming out of Clemson winning a national championship Etc but one more time is it Trevor Lawrence’s fault that the market is what it is absolutely not because if I had a good right arm and I had some scrambling ability and I had some size guess what I’d make at least $40 million a year because we could talk about the other players that are making that type of money Daniel Jones $45 million a year is he worth that money but one more time it’s not the player can’t hate the player in this case you hate the game or at least the market value and the going rate for quarterbacks in this league is starting at $50 million and yes Dak Prescott going into the final year of his contract and let’s say he has an MVP caliber year but spits a bit in the postseason he’s still going to be worth 55 maybe even $60 million which just goes to show you that with two MVPs three Super Bowl MVPs and three Super Bowl rings and the contract that Patrick Mahomes signed a few years ago where he got what in upwards of almost $500 million you could even argue that he’s being underpaid without do my good people another episode just about the books thank you so much for stopping by carving out precious time out of your day to listen to what it is that have to say about what goes on in the World of Sports if you haven’t done so like I mentioned at the top subscribe rate review on all podcast platforms you know the platforms people as well as my YouTube channel @js content every day all day please trying to get to 400 I’m at 371 I know it’s a poultry number but slowly but surely this engine is on the tracks going up the hill and you know as me being a full-time content creator all of the support and all the contributions that you put forth are just greatly appreciated if you want to hit me up with a question comment or suggestion add the following Instagram Tik Tok Facebook the JS podcast Twitter X JS one just the number the oldfashioned way the JS podcast at gmail.com I’ll be more than happy to follow up with you guys and gals as you all know because whether you do or do not know this is what I love to do people it’s in the blood it’s in the DNA as I like to say talking Sports since birth with nothing but fire passion energy Fury with my thoughts opinions critiques praise analysis feelings on anything and everything that happens on the world of the diamond ice grid iron hardwood go course racetrack tennis court boxing ring octagon you name it from my lips to your ears from my heart to your soul from where I am to wherever you are the JS podcast always comes correct direct and in full effect from the South Bronx to South Beast to South Cent to South Pacific and all points Beyond peace love and God bless everybody and until next time on a JS podcast on the flip baby [Music]
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Great Show..