LAND OF TWO EXTREMES

BY MIKE RIFKIN

The MLB trade deadline has come and gone, and all everyone is talking about is the Los Angeles Dodgers acquiring back to back CY Young Award winner Tarik Skubal is bad for the game and how it might cause a lockout for 2027. But something else caught my eye on Monday during the deadline. Since it’s inception the third wild card spot has been good for the game, it allows more teams to feel that they have a chance to make the playoffs. 

The Miami Marlins entered Monday 1.5 games out of the third wild card spot, and after taking three out of four from the Mets, the Marlins sold off pieces. They traded Catcher Liam Hicks to their in state rival Tampa Bay Rays. Hicks was hitting .282 with 14 homers and a team leading 62 RBI’S. Hicks still has two years of arbitration left, before becoming a free agent. 

Now, if Hicks was like Skubal an impending free agent I would understand the move, even if it’s to get a look at a younger player, but he leads the team in RBI’S and you’re in the race. The Marlins are not the only team to sell in a weird spot, the Tigers also sold pitcher Casey Mize, the Orioles traded Adley Rutschman. The Marlins have the second lowest payroll in the sport, yet 1.5 games out they got rid of one of their better hitters. 

Tarik Skubal met with the media for the first time as a Dodger on Monday, and said “ Every team  could trade for me. I don’t sympathize with people that blame the Dodgers for anything they’ve done. It’s a winning organization, I don’t sympathize with people that are complaining because the Dodgers do the right thing.” Skubal is correct on both counts. Yes, any team could’ve traded for him and yes the Dodgers are doing whatever it takes to win, and didn’t do anything illegal.  All they did was find the loophole of deferred money and have used it to their advantage. 

Now, do I like the fact the Dodgers got Skubal? No, but they’re showing us they’re trying to be the first National League team to win thee consecutive World Series. Now for smaller market teams trading for Skubal would be as a rental and they’d lose him as a free agent in the Winter, look at what the Brewers did in 2008 with CC Sabathia. But I don’t love what the Marlins did either. We can scream and yell about the Dodgers, but small market teams can’t do that and do the same thing the Marlins did, you have to show you want to win. I’m not sure what’s on the horizon when it comes to Baseball, but I’ll say this if the Dodgers find a way to win a third consecutive World Series and they re-sign Skubal it might be a long time before we see Baseball, thanks Rob Manfred.

STARTING TO THINK

BY MIKE RIFKIN

Saturday the Mets honored the 40 year anniversary of their 1986 World Series Championship. For the franchise it was their second and last championship. The 2026 Mets had championship aspirations and well have failed miserably. But watching the ceremony got me thinking about how close or far away this team could be to being a contender. And with the trade deadline looming on Monday, the Mets can make a 2027 statement before the Winter. 

There were a lot of takeaways from the ceremony about the 86 team, about being together and how close knit they were. And while parts of the team were homegrown (Darryl Strawberry, Doc Gooden, etc…) they also made two massive trades : Keith Hernandez (who should be in the Hall of fame) and Gary Carter (who should have his jersey retired). The Mets that year had a sensational pitching staff led by Doc Gooden. Gooden, Ron Darling, Sid Fernandez, and Bobby Ojeda had a combined 3.16 ERA. Throughout the history of the Mets franchise they’ve always done a good job in developing Starting pitching. 

Fast forward to 2026 ( and into 27) I think the Mets have three fifths of a rotation (yes they’ll need more for depth purposes) but right now Nolan McLean, Christian Scott and Zac Thornton could all be in the rotation. The Mets added Freddy Peralta to be the ace of the staff, and it’s failed and he is certain to be dealt by Monday, so will Clay Holmes, who was the best starter for the team until his injury. 

Yes, the Mets are sellers, but they should also consider a long term buyer. According to Jeff Passan of ESPN reported teams are calling the Mariners about starting pitcher George Kirby, meanwhile others are reporting Hunter Greene of the Reds is also available. These are two guys David Stearns should absolutely be all over. Greene is under contract through 2030 at a very reasonable salary, now I am not sure why the Reds would dump Greene a former second overall pick, but he’s still just 27 years old. For the Mariners they have a lot of pitching and Kirby is 28 years old and the Mariners need offense. 

Now there are reports the only untouchables for the Mets are Juan Soto, Carson Benge, Francisco Lindor, AJ Ewing, Nolan McLean, and Christian Scott. I think the Mets catchers should be off the table too, but that’s just me. David Stearns wants run prevention and the Mets stink at preventing runs, so why not add a starting pitcher who has over eight K/9( Kirby :8.6, Greene 11.2).  The Mets have six players they won’t move, Stearns should call on both. As mentioned earlier Greene is signed through 2030 and Kirby is still arbitration eligible. 

There are people who would like for the Mets to sign Tarik Skubal and while that’d be nice it’s definitely not a guaranteed thing. Yes, the Peralta deal didn’t work out, but you call on one of these guys, who fits the Mets young staff, the Mets could have one of the best rotations in Baseball in 2027.

MLB PLAYERS BUY THEIR OWN CARDS

BY MARK HALPERN

     As most of you who follow the network and my podcast the 1/1 known I have been a sport card trader for the past 36 years. Started when I was 12 and built a great small business that I still have but done on much lighter scale. I used to attend a lot of trading card shows a year from New York to California as a buyer and dealer. I participated in over 10 major conventions and anyone who had a bad comment on how I did business (meaning the ones who I wouldn’t make a deal with) you have to just ignore it. 

   One of the greatest moments of my life was at the 2004 East Coast National and I sold a 1/1 of Ivan Rodriguez to a celebrity ( I did not receive permission to use his name) He was a major celebrity. One of my greatest moments was selling to a non-common buyer that I was used to.

   Once the Sport Card game went to breaking online, the first company I was with was Top Notch Sports Club which is owned by Anthony Loparo. Anthony had made a post (Name of player will not be named) about a certain card that has sold on eBay and it just so happens the owner of the card is the actual Player. I collect the player my self and I reached out to Anthony and asked him “Is the first time that you have seen this?” Anthony replied “It happens way more often than you think.” I find this to be not just cool but to be the business that help untie this card with the player has to be one of the better stories that could be floating around the Card World today.

https://topnotchsportsclub.com/

WHAT A STAND UP GUY

BY MARK HALPERN

     Last week I reported on the horrific car accident that involved 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan and you can go read this article here ( https://thesportsinsanitynetwork.com/2026/07/27/get-well-kyle/)  the other day the great 49er coach spoke to the media and did something that he didn’t have to do and should set an example to every driver. After reading the accident report he went on live media with reporters stating that the accident was NOT the result of the other driver. He admitted that while in his Tesla and not going more than 25MPH, his cell phone slid off his lap and he reached down and just after he grabbed it and sat up he was greeted by his air bag and visor which caused the 40 stitches. 

    Honesty in this world with everything going on honesty isn’t something people rely on. People today are saying one thing but, do something different. Kyle Shanahan was being given special treatment he believed and changed the rhetoric and will fully be taking care of the people involved in the accident through his insurance and I am sure a couple of 49er tickets would help too. It just goes to show you that in this world today there are 100% honest and good people.

QUARTERBACKS UNDER PRESSURE

BY MIKE RIFKIN

It’s the end of July which means one thing Training camp is upon us. Every fanbase is excited for their favorite team to get going. Here are my top ten Quarterbacks with something to prove this season. Sidenote ( Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson are not on this list, they’re only pressure is to get to or win the SuperBowl.) The ones on this list are under pressure to win and elevate themselves to that level for the most part.

  1. CJ STROUD – TEXANS – Stroud had a sensational rookie season, and the last two seasons have been okay. His touchdowns have dropped the last two seasons. And he was awful in the playoff loss to the Pats. With how good the Texans defense is, Stroud can’t be the guy holding them back, otherwise the Texans might be looking elsewhere for a Quarterback. 
  1. JUSTIN HERBERT  CHARGERS – Unlike Stroud, Herbert has a long term contract and is the face of the Chargers. In last year’s playoff loss at the Pats, Herbert was down his two starting tackles. Now in Mike Mcdaniel’s offense Herbert should flourish, to a point where not only the Chargers should win a playoff game, they can be a real Super Bowl threat. Then the media can do what they love to do and that’s throw Herbert in the same conversation as Allen, Burrow, Jackson, and Mahomes. 
  1. BO NIX – BRONCOS – Nix didn’t play in the AFC title game due to injury, but he was solid last season for the Broncos. Nix was top ten in yards and touchdowns last season, but he doesn’t have to be the savior with how good the Bronco defense is. But the addition of Jaylen Waddle puts added pressure on Nix and the Broncos, who want to take that next step. 
  1. CALEB WILLIAMS – BEARS – Williams was fun to watch last season, his first under Ben Johnson. He spread the wealth around, and he still has a ton of weapons minus DJ Moore. But Williams was so spectacular he landed the Madden cover, so there’s some lofty goals in Chicago. 
  1. DAK PRESCOTT – COWBOYS – This is all about one thing, getting over the hump. Dak was in the top five in yards, touchdowns and QBR. Dak also has a plethora of weapons with CeeDee Lamb, George Pickens, and Jake Ferguson. At 33 how much longer can Dak play at this high level?
  1. BAKER MAYFIELD  – BUCS – The Bucs collapsed at the end of the season. Part of that was Baker got hurt and tried to play through it. The Bucs lost four of their last five games and Baker threw at least one interception in each game. He won’t have old reliable Mike Evans to help him, so Chris Godwin and Emeka Egbuka need to have good years. Other reason this is a big year for Baker, he’ll be a free agent after the season, so if he plays well he can cash in. 
  2. KYLER MURRAY – VIKINGS – Kyler basically went to the place all free agent Quarterbacks want to go. He goes to a team that has an outstanding coach, defense and offensive scheme. He gets one of the best receiving tandems in the game with Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison. Kyler needs to prove the Vikings right if he wants to be the long term solution. 
  1. TUA TAGOVAILOA/MICHAEL PENIX – FALCONS – Here’s the thing both of these guys have pressure on them, Penix to prove he’s not a bust and Tua to prove he can still play at a high level. The NFC South is actually winnable, but these are two guys who need to stay healthy throughout camp and it’s a QB battle worth watching. But either way they have so much talent on that offense, they need to prove themselves. 
  1. PATRICK MAHOMES – CHIEFS – Yeah, I know what I said at the top. Mahomes isn’t under pressure to win, what I want to see from Mahomes is how he handles coming off the ACL surgery. This is his first major surgery in the NFL, and if you think about it most of his injuries have had to deal with his legs. Luckily for him the Chiefs signed Kenneth Walker to take some pressure off. 
  2.  TREVOR LAWRENCE – JAGS – 2025 was the best season of Lawrence’s career. He was in the top ten in yards and touchdowns. He led the Jags to the playoffs, where he went toe to toe with Josh Allen. Can Lawrence do it again, and this time without Travis Etienne, who had been his running back since college.

GET OVER IT

BY MIKE RIFKIN

Do you remember the episode of “Family Guy” where Peter joined the news team for his segment “What Really Grinds My Gears”?  December 8th 2024, 596 days ago that’s a day that has haunted the state of New York Sports. It was the day Juan Soto and the Mets agreed to his 15 year 765 million dollar contract, and there are people who can’t get over it. 

For the first time ever the Mets outbid the Yankees for a player both teams coveted, especially after what Soto did in his one season in the Bronx. Now, Soto’s time in Queens has not been great, the Mets missed the playoffs last season and will miss again this year and that is definitely not the fault of Soto. As a Met has a slash line of .270/.400/.530 with 64 homers and 157 RBI’S. It’s not Soto’s fault the Mets are where they are, that’s on David Stearns, who really needs a good trade deadline. 

Soto, is a generational player, he is one of the faces of the sport, but yet people on Social Media or the media as a whole want to talk about if he made a mistake leaving the Bronx for Queens. So this is what “Grinds My Gears” Soto obviously was sold on whatever the vision Steve Cohen and Stearns have mapped out. And let’s be honest most of what has happened has not worked out in the Mets favor, but 600 days later we’re still talking about if it was a mistake? I know The Yankees have their shills in the media and Yankee fans are not used to losing out on free agents, but people need to get over this. Michael Kay on his program Monday claimed Soto has “wasted two prime years” The guy will be 28 years old in October, so he is just entering his prime. 

This notion that leaving the Bronx for Queens being a mistake needs to be looked at like this, the media and Yankee fans are not used to losing out on star players, especially to the Mets. And while the Mets are the biggest disappointment in the sport, the Yankee fan feels it’s cool to flex their muscle at being better than the Mets. But at the end of the day Juan Soto is the King Of Queens.

MESS AROUND AND FIND OUT

BY MARK HALPERN

     To be high up in the social media game you have to be known or do something to get known. Now there are right ways and wrong ways of doing it. We have seen YouTube sensation Mr. Beast turn his life into millions of dollars from his wild antics to cash winning games. Others rely on other talents from looks to personality. To be in SPORTS as a respected YouTuber it takes a lot and it takes dedication and there are ways of doing it and Fred Beyer found out the wrong way to do things.

    During the 2026 NFL Draft Fred Beyer ran on stage during the Pittsburgh Steelers pick and grabbed the microphone. He thought this would be his viral moment and it is but not in a good way. Fred was greeted by an NFL Attorney who gave him a sheet of paper explaining to him if he ever shows up at any NFL venue he will be arrested on the spot. There’s good publicity and bad publicity and whether or not Mr. Beyer believes his viral moment was worth it, it wasn’t. The Attorney requested he sign that he received the notice and he did, instead of fighting this in a court room. In my personal opinion it kept him out of jail and out of any other trouble with the law that he has been dealing with.

    Social Media has changed many a way we do things. We get information and sometimes you get recognized for things you do and sometimes other people are watching and a job opportunity presents itself. The moral of the story is there is a right way and a wrong way to break in to the media side of things. I just explained to you the wrong way.

GET WELL KYLE

BY MARK HALPERN

      This past weekend Kyle Shanahan, the head coach for the San Francisco 49ers was involved in a serious car collision. The collision involved four cars including Shanahan and the accident is not related to  DRUGS & OR ALCOHOL suspected. Just how serious was the crash you may ask? Well, when all said and done car totaled, A severe concussion, 40 stitches to his face, 3 broken ribs and fractures in his wrist. John Lynch who is the General Manager of the 49ers has stated that all these injuries thank goodness were non-life threatening and they will be taking a slow and careful approach to how he coaches in this preseason. Chris Foerster will be at the helm. Foerster has been an Offensive line coach around the league and has been in San Francisco since 2019. All of us here at the network wish for Kyle to have a safe a healthy recovery.

76ERS SERIOUS CONTENDER?

BY MARK HALPERN

     In sports most offseasons have their high and low points. The highs are usually the draft and the first days of free agency. The low points are every day where nothing happens. One of the teams pundits keep getting excited about are the Philadelphia 76ers. The Sixers are one of the most consistent regular season teams, and then in the playoffs they fold. This year they came back from a 3-1 deficit to beat the Celtics, only to get swept by the Knicks in the second round. Remember trusting the process?

    The 76ers have had a very active offseason.  First was a huge trade with the Boston Celtics in which sent Jaylen Brown to Philly in exchange for Paul George and four draft picks (two firsts and two seconds). Jaylen Brown didn’t get the spotlight in Boston, due to Jayson Tatum. But Brown is a really good player, he’s won a Finals MVP and this season without Tatum for a good chunk averaged 28.7 points per game, 6.9 rebounds, and 5.1 assists, while shooting 47.7% from the field and 34.7% from three. The next move repulses me because in my opinion he is just going to be a distraction more than anything. Lebron James has signed a 2 year 8-million-dollar deal. We are all thinking it where is the big money for him. Well let’s face money LeBron doesn’t need the money. That he has plenty but, this will be his probably last and final chance to win another ring (mind you Jordan did it all with the Bulls) to go along with his impressive time in the NBA. I will not say he sucks and is a bad player cause that’s not the case. He was one of the best young talents to enter the game and achieve the things he did. The jumping from team to team trying to prove he is the best and be paired with some of the best (Dwayne Wade, Chris Bosh, Kevin Love, Anthony Davis, Kyrie Irving) just to name a few. LeBron averaged 20.9 points per game, 6.1 rebounds, 7.2 assists and shot 51.5 % from the field last season. 

   The Sixers also signed Dean Wade and they quietly signed Ariel Hukaporti from the Knicks and Anfernee Simons. They are also bringing in Kentavious Caldwell -Pope, once his buyout from Memphis is complete. Let’s not forget they will be joining Joel Embiid on this impressive 76er team. Embiid for one of the first times that I can remember has a solid core around him to take some of the heavy lifting off of his weakening knees and ankle problems. With Embiid, Brown, LeBron and Tyrese Maxey it will be difficult for defenses to defend, but who is going to be the primary ball handler?

    The Sixers will have to face perennial postseason teams such as the Celtics, the Cavaliers, Hawks and the reigning NBA champions the New York Knicks. The Eastern Conference is going to be a gauntlet, can James overcome it and win another title?

BEHIND THE SCENES AT S.I.N

PART 1

BY MARK HALPERN

The Sports Insanity Network has many faces. You have been able to put names to faces or voices since we’ve done a lot of work on Youtube ( https://www.youtube.com/@thesportsinsanitynetwork9343) You knowLawrence Lang, Dan Ryans, Mike Rifkin, Bill Murphy, Noah Trombly and myself. We have our blogging done on our website  (https://thesportsinsanitynetwork.com/) However, we’ve got a few other members who also contribute. The one I am talking about has made several appearances on  the network and his name is Ross Mazin.

     Ross went to school with some of the guys mentioned above. I got to meet Ross through the network. Ross likes to challenge our smarts buy sending out a trivia game based on our favorite team. The puzzles vary on their difficulty, but it’s the fact that he sends it and makes us think that’s great. Sometimes some great ideas for some of my blogs have been based on a category from these trivia games.

     Ross has been on the network with myself for the 19th hole that got held up this year but has full plans on returning in 2027.  Hey it might even be more than the two of us. Ross is a passionate Jets, Yankees, Knicks and Rangers fan. Ross enjoys going to different sporting venues both college and professional.

     Ross is just one of many who help the network in his own way. Stay tuned from other members who report on members who help outside the network.