Leon Breaks The Bank

By Mike Rifkin

The Edmonton Oilers have been busy since losing in game seven of the Stanley Cup Final. The Oilers have been busy adding to their roster, and are now keeping one of their core members. Leon Draisaitl and the Oilers have agreed to an eight year 112 million dollar contract, which is an AAV of 14 million dollars per season, which is the highest in the league. Draisaitl was eligible to be a free agent after the season. 

Draisaitl finished seventh in the NHL with 106 points (41 goals and 65 assists) in 81 regular season games. Draisaitl added 31 points in 25 playoff games (10 goals 21 assists). Draisaitl, the third pick in 2017 has 850 points (347 goals 503 assists) in 719 regular season games. Draisaitl has won an Art Ross, Hart and Ted Lindsay awards in 2019-20. 

With Draisaitl now locked up long term, the attention turns to Oilers captain Connor McDavid, who will be eligible for an extension next summer. The Oilers are in a win now situation, and didn’t let Draisaitl’s contract be over their heads entering training camp. 

What A Difference A Year Makes

By Mike Rifkin

Last year Florida State went undefeated, won the ACC (Regular season and Championship) but were still excluded from the College Football Playoff. Mainly because of an injury sustained to Quarterback Jordan Travis, who finished fifth in the Heisman Trophy voting. So while FSU fans had a right to be upset at being left out of the Playoff, it was short sighted based on how 2024 season has started.

Travis was among the many Florida State players who were drafted to the NFL in April. Florida State hit the transfer portal for their new quarterback, and they brought back an ACC talent in DJ Uiagalelei, who had played three seasons at Clemson, before playing last season at Oregon State. Uiagalelei, had a pretty solid season for the Beavers, after struggling getting out of the shadow of Deshaun Watson and Trevor Lawrence. But Florida State, who had high expectations are now 0-2 on the young season with losses to Georgia Tech and Boston College. Uiagalelei, has struggled in both games, he threw for 272 yards a touchdown and an interception on Monday night. Florida State’s schedule doesn’t get any easier with Memphis coming to town on Saturday, but still with games against Clemson and road games against Miami and Notre Dame, the Seminoles need to turn this around soon. 

The hits keep coming for Florida State, according to reports the Seminoles will open the 2025 season against the Alabama Crimson Tide. Florida State had a great 2023, but they need to turn things around soon.

Johnny Hockey 

By Mike Rifkin 

The hockey world was crushed on Friday morning to learn that Columbus Blue Jackets winger Johnny Gaudreau, along with his brother Matthew, tragically passed away. Johnny played his college hockey at Boston College where, in three seasons, he scored 78 goals and 176 points in 119 games. Gaudreau twice was named a finalist for the Hobey Baker award, winning it in 2014. Gaudreau also helped B.C. win the National Championship in 2012. 

Gaudreau was selected by the Calgary Flames in the fourth round (104th overall) of the 2011 NHL Draft. He scored a goal in his only game during the 2013-14 season.

During the 2014-15 campaign, Gaudreau scored 24 goals and 64 points, and finished third in Calder Trophy voting. In 2018-19, he put up 36 goals and 99 points, and finished fourth in the Hart Trophy voting. Gaudreau posted his only 40 goal and 100 point season during the 2021-22 season. As a result, he once again finished fourth in Hart Trophy voting. In 42 career playoff games, Gaudreau had 11 goals and 33 points. One of his biggest goals came in the first round of the 2022 playoffs. In game seven against the Dallas Stars, he was able to snipe one past goalie Jake Oettinger to win the series for the Flames. Gaudreau shocked the hockey world in July of 2022, when he signed a seven-year, $69 million contract with the Columbus Blue Jackets. In his two seasons in Columbus, he scored 33 goals and 134 points. 

Johnny wasn’t the biggest guy on the ice, but he had the heart and played the game with joy. As I continued to watch Johnny’s career, there was one name that I could compare him to. That is Hockey Hall of Fame forward Marty St. Louis. Neither Gaudreau nor St. Louis were the biggest guys, but they had a lot of fun playing the game, and they had the skill to match it. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Gaudreau family, friends, the Columbus Blue Jackets organization, and the rest of the hockey community.

What To Do?

By Mark Halpern and Mike Rifkin

When Steve Cohen bought the New York Mets, fans everywhere rejoiced not just because it meant the Wilpons didn’t own the team, but because of Steve Cohen’s bank account. Cohen’s takeover started with a bang by acquiring Francisco Lindor, and signing him to a 10 year contract. Cohen’s checkbook also helped the Mets get out of deals with future Hall of Famers Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer; he would pay a hefty sum of their contracts to acquire better prospects. After a disastrous 2023 the Mets hired David Stearns to be the President Of Baseball Operations. And Stearns, even with Cohen’s checkbook, was not very aggressive during the winter, signing players to one year contracts, and didn’t go after the top of the market. After this season both Verlander and Scherzer will be free agents, which means they’ll both be off the Mets books, so will Cohen and Stearns be more aggressive this winter?

Last winter, the Mets saw their crosstown rivals steal the headlines when the Yankees emptied the farm to acquire Juan Soto from the Padres. Soto has had a sensational season in New York already hitting a career high 37 homers. In 2022 Soto turned down a 15 year 440 million dollar contract extension with the Nationals, which led him to be moved to San Diego. For most, turning down a luxury offer like that would be insane, but Soto will turn 26 in October, and is primed for a massive payday and most experts believe for the first time a bidding war between Steve Cohen and the Yankees will take place. 

While Soto is the marquee free agent, he also provides a dilemma for the Mets. Now the two may not coincide  with one another, one has to imagine signing Soto would probably end the Mets career of Pete Alonso. Alonso, who on Tuesday night hit his 220th career home run, which ties him with Mike Piazza for third most in franchise history. Alonso, since his rookie season where he set a record with 53 homers. Alonso, has really yet to catch fire this season and you can tell the contract is weighing on him. Alonso and Soto are both represented by Scott Boras. 

Outside of Soto and Alonso, the Mets also have a massive need in their rotation. Kodai Senga has pitched just five innings this season, Luis Severino, who the Mets took a flier on this season has been really good, but he’s a free agent at season’s end. Sean Manaea, who you can argue has been the Mets best starter, has a player option after the season. So if Manaea opts out and Severino goes elsewhere the Mets rotation would be Senga, David Peterson and Christian Scott if he’s healthy. So, what does the free agent pitching market look like? Well, the best pitcher on the market is someone familiar with Stearns and that is Corbin Burnes of the Orioles. Burnes pitched for Stearns in Milwaukee and won a CY Young, and he started the All Star Game for the American League this season. Blake Snell, another Boras client has an opt out in his contract with the Giants, after having to wait until Spring Training to sign. Who knows what Snell does? Then there’s a really interesting option and it might affect what happens with Soto, and that is Yankees ace Gerrit Cole has an opt out in  his contract, if he exercises that option, would that change the Yankees plans with Soto? Shane Bieber will be coming off of Tommy John Surgery, and Walker Buehler has struggled in his recovery, if the Dodgers don’t give him a qualifying offer, Walker can be the most wanted Buehler after Ferris. Jordan Montgomery, like Snell had to wait a long time to sign, has a vesting option as does Nathan Eovaldi. Both of which slot into the middle of the rotation, but both have had playoff success.

Check Your Ego

By Mike Rifkin

The Pittsburgh Steelers have been the definition of consistency in the NFL for a long time. They haven’t had a losing season since 2003, they’ve had three head coaches spanning over 30 years, etc… This offseason the Steelers decided to make a change at the most important position quarterback. 

The trio of Kenny Pickett, Mitch Trubisky, and Mason Rudolph are all in different places. The Steelers brought in Russell Wilson, who was released by the Broncos and Justin Fields, who they acquired in a trade with the Bears. Coach Mike Tomlin was adamant that Wilson was in “pole position” from the start, so it should come to no surprise that Wilson was named the starter on Wednesday. Wilson, missed most of training camp with a calf injury, so that begs the question why Wilson over Fields?

Wilson has the experience edge, but his stint in Denver was not pretty especially 2022. Wilson was better last season under Sean Payton throwing for 26 touchdowns and eight interceptions, with a 66.4 completion percentage. Wilson hasn’t thrown for more than 30 touchdowns since 2020. Usually when you look at quarterbacks you’re looking for someone who can win you a Super Bowl or someone who may be your franchise quarterback. But here’s the thing Russell Wilson is neither. Russ will be 36 in November, and even with him at the helm does that make the Steelers better than the Bengals, Browns or Ravens the answer for me is no. 

Would Justin Fields make them better than those teams? The answer is still no, but at least playing Fields would at least give you a glimpse into who can be the quarterback of the future. Justin Fields is only 25 years old, and let’s be honest pairing him with a young defensive coach was a mistake on the Bears part. Last season Fields had a 61.4 completion percentage with 16 touchdowns, nine interceptions and three fumbles. He also chipped in four rushing touchdowns. Fields also had one of the worst offensive lines in the NFL, he was sacked 44 times, the Bears Offensive line gave up 50 which was seventh most in the NFL. Fields is one of many young quarterbacks to struggle behind a bad offensive line and turnovers, so which begs me to ask again why Russ over Fields?

The answer is simple Mike Tomlin’s ego. Tomlin has never had a losing season, and he wants to keep that in check. But the problem is is might be hindering the progress of the organization. Because if the Steelers sneak into the playoffs at 9-8 or something, they’ll get dismantled by one of the better teams in the AFC. So here’s the question for me : How long is Wilson’s leash? I don’t care if they design a package for Fields (think Saints with Hill), because until we see if Fields has a grasp of the offense the Steelers are destined to be middle of the pack especially with Burrow and Lamar Jackson in their division.

HAS ROGER GONE TOO FAR?

BY MARK HALPERN

Roger Goodell the NFL commissioner has been trying to expand the viewership of the NFL in many different countries. We have seen the NFL play in London with great success, the NFL has had some games in Mexico and Germany, but London has seen the most action. Now this year Rodger and the executive body of the NFL thought lets go to Brazil. ( This may or may not have been decided after watching the Simpsons Brazil episode) Brazil being a very big Soccer country. But Roger and company believe they can get any country to love American Football. Rodger and the NFL arranged for the Philadelphia Eagles and the Green Bay Packers play their opening game in Brazil. The idea has been well perceived by a lot but not too soon after the date was booked and plans arranged the NFL had been told that the Eagles and the Packers could not wear the color GREEN because of gang affiliations. Let me repeat myself the Packers whose prime colors are GREEN and yellow and the Eagles whose prime colors are GREEN and white won’t be able to wear their dominate color with the fear of gang violence. Why is this game with these teams being played if there is so much controversy of colors. I understand that timing would be horrible especially for people who have tickets to the game but if the Country’s President is that concerned why did the NFL pick two teams whose primary colors are Green to play? As the plans have been made available that the players planes will arrive separately and teams will enter ARMORED caravans to their hotel where they will be protected by some faction of the Brazilian Military (NOT POLICE). I see a bounty of problems and I truly hope that someone check all the facts before booking two NFL teams into a possible dangerous situation. To compare a recent event that was held we can only expect the same type of problems like Miami had for the soccer final. the Stadium in Miami was destroyed not only to the outside façade but many different internal areas including air ducts, V.I.P. rooms and escalators damaged and destroyed needless to say the security for that event was in no way prepared. After witnessing that disgusting display and disrespect I wonder how Brazil will choose to decide that the proper security not only be outside but inside the venue much prior to the event beginning and to secure the site maybe throw a few guys in the air vents just in case. This is a serious look for the league and hopefully everyone will be safe.

LEGENDARY BABE RUTH “CALLED SHOT”JERSEY SETS RECORD AT AUCTION

BY MARK HALPERN

In 1932 the biggest legend to ever step on a diamond George Herman “Babe” Ruth stood at home plate during game 3 of the World Series against the Chicago Cubs and pointed to the center field wall. The Babe was calling his shot to clear the center field wall. At this time during baseball, he and probably Lou Gehrig who could have done that. On the next pitch The Babe hit a towering home run over the center field wall. It’s a moment in history and nearly a century later that jersey he wore set another record the other night. The Jersey was put up for auction with Heritage auctions one of the best companies that deals with sports collectibles of this caliber. When the final second ended the jersey sold for and tremendous $24.14 million dollars topping the 1952 Mantle that sold for $12 million not too long ago. 

       This is one of the most important pieces of baseball memorabilia as it represents just how good the babe was. He had gifted the jersey to a golfing buddy of his around 1940. The family kept it for decades and then it sold for just under a million in 2005 to another collector. Now it’s in the hands of yet another and not where it belongs and that is Cooperstown. A jersey of this importance belongs to be seen/viewed by all who come to Cooperstown to see and understand the legendary game.

All Time Great or All Time Distraction

By Mike Rifkin

This past weekend the New York Yankees honored the 2009 World Series Championship team (the last one they won). One member of that team has yet to be honored with a plaque in monument park and thinks he deserves it. That is Alex Rodriguez, but let me ask this question is A-Rod an all time Yankee, or was he an all time me guy? When I think about all time Yankees I think of Mantle, Berra, Mattingly, Jeter, Rivera, etc… 

A-Rod definitely had the regular season stats to be considered an all time Yankee. In his 12 seasons as a Yankee Rodriguez hit 351 homers and drove in 1,096 RBI’S and scored 1,012 runs in 1,509 games played with a slash line of .283/.378/.523. Rodriguez won two of his three MVP’S with the Yankees as well. But to judge a Yankee, it doesn’t matter what they do in the regular season, it matters what they do in the playoffs. In the Playoffs Rodriguez had 10 homers and 33 RBI and a slash line of .240/.363/.431 in 61 games played. And if you take away that 09 team the numbers are just not there. 

Then there’s the other side to Rodriguez and that’s the distraction part or the selfish part as I call it. Remember during the 2007 World Series where he announced he was opting out of his contract only to become the highest paid player in the game. Now to Yankee fans they’re ok with that because it tried to overshadow the Red Sox winning their second World Series in four seasons, but to a baseball fan to overshadow the world series. Then prior to the 2009 season Rodriguez admitted to using steroids during his Texas seasons after repeatedly denying the allegations. While the Yankees did win the world series that season, this could have been a massive distraction ( it didn’t hurt that the Yankees that they signed CC Sabathia, Mark Teixeira and AJ Burnett). Then there was the biogenesis scandal that had Rodriguez suspended for 211 games. Was that a witch hunt on the part of MLB? Sure, but that was the final straw for an individual who has already lied for his usage of PED’S. 

Rodriguez can try to clean up his image, as an analyst and think that changes his story. It shouldn’t, the New York Yankees are supposed to be the biggest franchise not just in Baseball, but in sports as a whole. While the Yankee fan may embrace A-Rod, there’s something about putting him among the All time greats who wore the pinstripes and even just all time greats that bothers me. Even if he winds up in Monument Park, he shouldn’t sniff Cooperstown. Yes, the numbers are there but if we’re not embracing the steroid era at all (and we should) he lied about it. Rodriguez was one of the most gifted players to play the game, but at the end of the day he ruined it for himself.

STICK A FORK IN LAMB’S CONTRACT CAUSE IT IS DONE

BY MARK HALPERN
   

  Well, the wait is over and Cee Dee Lamb is coming back to camp after his contract holdout. Cee Dee and the Cowboys were able to come together on a 4-year deal worth $136 million dollars with a $38 million dollar signing bonus. 100 million dollars guaranteed. Since entering the league Lamb has 395 catches for 5,145 yards and 32 touchdowns. Last season Lamb led the league with 135 catches, second with 1,749 yards and third with 12 touchdowns. Lamb is now the second highest paid wide receiver next to Justin Jefferson. It looks like #88 is here to stay at least the next 4 years.

Gut Punch

By Mike Rifkin

The New York Mets kicked off what is a massive 10 game road trip, just a mere two games back in the NL Wild Card race. They started this massive trip in San Diego, a team the Mets are chasing in the Wild Card race. Now if you asked any Met fan if how’d they feel about splitting four games with the Padres, I’m sure they’d be ok with that. But it’s the way the split was secured that’s frustrating to Met fans. 

Met fans got the result they wanted on Sunday as the Nationals beat the Braves, meaning a Mets win would move them to 1.5 games behind Atlanta for that last wild card spot. The Mets got an absolute gem from Jose Quintana, who had struggled over his last several starts. Quintana gave the Mets 6.1 shutout innings giving up four hits and two walks. The Mets also played some splendid defense behind Quintana. (Just watch Jose Iglesias play over and over) But this is the Mets and nothing comes easy. Jose Butto entered the game and struggled a bit but a caught stealing got him through the seventh. Entering the eighth, Butto walked the ninth place hitter Mason McCoy, after getting ahead 0-2, and then promptly gave up a two run homer to Jurickson Profar to tie the game. After giving up another hit, the Mets went to Phil Maton who got his only out on two pitches. Then to enter the ninth inning in a tied game the Mets went to Edwin Diaz, who had not pitched since Wednesday. Diaz gave up a walkoff homer to Jackson Merrill to gain a split of the series for San Diego, and kept the Mets 2.5 games behind the Braves for the last wild card. 

Look I get the fact that Carlos Mendoza wanted to get Diaz into the game because he hadn’t pitched since Wednesday, but this is twofold. One if Diaz throws an abundance of pitches, even with the off day Monday would he be available Tuesday? Also Phil Maton retired one hitter with two pitches, why take him out and save Diaz for a potential save opportunity in the 10th inning? The Mets offense was held in check by San Diego’s bullpen, the Mets left eight runners on base and were 0-3 with runners in scoring position. The Mets scored their two runs with solo homers by JD Martinez and Mark Vientos. 

The Mets had all the momentum and had they won this game could have jump started this important trip. Now they need to recover quickly because they now go play another team in the wild card chase, the Arizona Diamondbacks, who just happen to have the best record in baseball since the All Star break. This is a Mets team that has always responded when something bad has occurred, let’s see how they handle this latest gut punch.