Sports ‘n Stuff!

At the Movies:

Nicolas Cage is  hitting the big screen with yet another unique role. He plays a renowned truffle-hunting chef on a mission to recover his kidnapped forager pig in the new movie “Pig,” hitting theaters on July 16th. 

Two weeks after replacing Danny Ainge as president of basketball operations for the Boston Celtics, Brad Stevens made a seismic first move in his new role.

Boston agreed to send All-Star point guard Kemba Walker, the 16th pick in this year’s NBA draftand a 202 5 second-round selection to the Oklahoma City Thunder for Al Horford, Moses Brown and a 2023 second-round pick, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

Sooner or later, the NCAA football playoff field will be expanded. Growing from four teams to twelve will get schools outside of the Power 5 a shot. More games, mean more chances to get hurt, which may not go over well…especially if players still aren’t getting paid.

“Men’s Journal” listed Pros & Cons for expansion.

Pros

• In the current set up, schools outside of the Power 5 are essentially ignored. Last season, both Coastal Carolina and Cincinnati went undefeated, and never even sniffed a shot at one of the four slots. With twelve slots, that would change.
• The opening rounds would ideally be played on campus, with the higher seed teams playing in front of their home crowd.
• There’d be more importance placed on regular season games for more teams.

Cons

• There’d be more games, which is great for fans, but an increased injury risk for players. More games is great for television revenue, too, but does nothing for players if they’re still not getting compensated.
• The playoffs would become more of the focus and become more likely the singular gauge of a program’s success.
• There’d be almost a zero-percent chance that a powerhouse program like Alabama wouldn’t be in it, even with multiple losses. At least with four teams, there’s a shot at a surprise in that area.

Adding to that last point, here’s an interesting stat. Since the playoffs started in 2014, 78% of the playoff spots have gone to the same five teams, so change might not be a bad thing…assuming logistics can be worked out.

“Sports Illustrated” is now looking to make some noise in the ticketing business, and it’s not just about sports. The main marketing plan appears to be taking on those fees that other ticket brokers gouge fans on. SITickets.com struck a partnership with Venmo, and promises a “$10 flat fee” for any ticket purchase of “$67 or more.” In addition, the site lists what the fees for comparable tickets would be on other sites, so you can see how much you’re saving.

The Chicago Bears have submitted a bid to buy a spacious suburban horse racing track site, signaling a potential willingness to move out of downtown Soldier Field for a new stadium.

Bears president and CEO and Ted Phillips announced Thursday the club wants to purchase the Arlington International Racecourse, an iconic horse track in the city of Arlington Heights. It’s about 30 miles northwest of their current lakefront venue.

“It’s our obligation to explore every possible option to ensure we’re doing what’s best for our organization and its future. If selected, this step allows us to further evaluate the property and its potential,” Phillips said in his statement.

Soldier Field is the oldest NFL stadium in operation, having opened in 1924. 

Going into today’s game sixth game of the 76’ers/Hawks series, Ben Simmons has the worst free throw percentage of any other player in the post-season…and it’s not even close. Currently, Simmons’ percentage from the charity stripe is 32.8%. That’s 20% worse than the second-worst player in the playoffs. In game five of their series, the Sixers missed an amazing 16 free throws, ten of them by Simmons, who’s also missed 27 in this series alone.

The Hawks host Philly tonight at at 7:30 on ESPN

The 76ers are a 3pt. road favorite

Atlanta leading their best of 7 series 3-2

The Clipper who lead the Jazz 3-2, host Utah in the late game tonight at 10pm

Utah listed as a 2 pt. Road favorite as well

The Indians are in Pittsburgh 

J.C Mejia on the hill for the tribe 7:05

The Tribe has won 4 straight and 7 of the last 10 games.

Today is Friday, June 18, 2021

Today in Sports History

5 years ago tomorrow, the Cavalier broke a 52 year championship drought by coming back down 3-1 and winning the NBA Championship by defeating the Golden State Warriors.

The Cavs didn’t just win: They beat a juggernaut that had set a franchise record with 73 regular-season wins; they smothered back-to-back league MVP Stephen Curry, holding him to 40% shooting; they came back from a 3-to-1 series deficit, the 11th team ever to do so and the first to do it in the NBA Finals; and they took Game 7 in Golden State’s house – the first road Game 7 Finals win since the Washington Bullets’ 1978 win over the Seattle Supersonics.

Happy Birthday:

Sandy Alomar, Jr. is 55 (FAST FACTS: He won the AL Rookie of the Year award in 1990 and is a six-time All-Star.)

Paul McCartney – 79