Avs Stanley Cup Clincher; Kyrie Free Agency; Dan Synder Goes to Congress
NBA Draft Recap
NBA shenanigans in the hours approaching the Draft with fluctuations in the odds for who would go #1, #2, and #3. Paolo jumped to #1 when the expectation had been Jabari the whole time. Orlando ultimately played this one perfect and kept things close enough to the vest that the media was lost going into this one.
Detroit pulled in two great picks in Jaden Ivey and Jalen Duren, and may be the winner of this draft; Tom certainly thinks so. Chris really likes A.J. Griffin to the Hawks at #16, and Tom’s Cavaliers took Ochai Agbaji at #14, both solid picks for each squad. Lastly, Chris’ boy TyTy Washington fell to #29 with Memphis, but after some trades he’ll be suiting up in Houston.
Ultimately, Paolo to the Magic, Chet Holmgren to the Thunder, and Jabari Smith to the Rockets is how the Top 3 picks shook out.
Stanley Cup Finals
Elimination didn’t feel like it was on the cards before this one, but the Avs are in control of the series going into tonight’s Game #5, up 3-1. A bit of controversy in Game #4 about too many men on the ice during the Avs’ winning goal, a sort of botched lane switch (from both teams) at the same time caused some chaos.
Vasilevskiy had a few bad breaks, and Kuemper stood on his head. Neither tendie deserved a loss here, but Tampa left Vasilevskiy exposed a bit too much. Stamkos even owned up to that post-game. Colorado has been incredible on the Power Play and Tampa has been weak on the Kill. The Avalanche are incredibly fun to watch and are seriously knocking on the door here.
Chris has the Avs winning tonight and the altitude has been a serious issue. Tampa Bay looks like a different team at home than in Colorado. We both agree though, for Tampa Bay to win this it has to be a low scoring affair. Tom is non-committal, but it feels like he knows Colorado is the horse to back here.
Baltimore Orioles
“We’re talking about…one of the hottest teams under .500, the Baltimore Orioles” - Chris
Chris is feeling good about the O’s and where they are trending. Tom sees the writing on the wall for the original bet of 50 wins,so amended terms were offered - if the O’s win over 60 games Tom will visit Camden Yards (as if that’s punishment). As of this recording, the O’s are 32-39; we repeat, THE BALTIMORE ORIOLES ARE 32-39, in June!!! The nucleus is forming and looking solid, the pitching has improved, and they overall look like the plan is beginning to come to fruition. The bullpen is currently much improved and all signs are pointing towards positive progress. Mullins, Hays, Mountcastle, Rutschman, Mancini - this lineup is starting to sound like one that can compete with a few additions.
Kyrie Irving….Free Agency
Kyrie wants to leave the “Superteam” Nets after winning nothing, surprise! Tom loves him, so that’s a thing. Chris is fatigued with Kyrie, which is also a thing. He’s probably not going anywhere; this is most likely just a bargaining ploy.
If Kyrie leaves, it throws Durant into question which throws the rest of the team into question and any hopes of competing in the East. The Nets are not the same without him, and Durant probably won’t want to stay. Ben Simmons is still on this roster which is good on paper, and maybe on the court one day.
“Blow it up”, Chris says. The Nets loaded up to win and haven’t accomplished anything. Tom thinks they are still a contender with all the ingredients remaining, but maybe it’s time for the Nets to cash-in and rebuild.
Supreme Commander - Dan Synder
Dodging everybody! Dan Synder is being deposed next week and it’s must watch TV. There has been 8 months of investigation into what’s going on in the front office. He’s become more aggressive towards the press that criticizes him yet nothing seems to be coming from it in the way of consequences; as Chris says “he’s teflon”. Maybe more teflon than Vince McMahon, says Tom, and that is saying something because Vince is basically Thanos.
The other owners don’t seem to mind because they haven’t truly been affected. It would take 24 out of 32 votes in order to oust Snyder from his post, and that seems like a longshot until it negatively impacts the league or the other owners. This isn’t a Donald Sterling situation, where he’s buried himself publicly, so the Commanders truck on.
Until he’s escorted out of Commanders HQ, we’ll believe real consequences when we see them!