SCOTT BORAS DISSED BY MONTGOMERY

BY MARK HALPERN

   When you think of Sports Agents in the world today a few rank as high as Scott Boras. Boras is  known to get his clients lucrative contracts. Sometimes these contracts are so unreal that even some of the best baseball analysts today don’t have clear answers. Jordan Montgomery, a Boras client, was a highly sought after free agent after winning the World Series with the Rangers. When you have a player under contract, yes you do your best to get him what his value is on the market and Boras really embellished what Montgomery was worth and wanted so much that turned multiple teams away including the Mets, Red Sox and Yankees. It wasn’t till the end of spring training that Boras finally landed a deal for Montgomery with the Arizona Diamondbacks on a one year $25 million dollars. Here’s the problem and it isn’t the money it’s the fact that he was signed so late and didn’t ever really get going. After 19 starts this season, he has a ballooned ERA to 6.44 and has now been regulated to the bullpen.

     Scott Boras represented four of the biggest free agents on the Market this season. Boras got deals for Matt Chapman, Cody Bellinger and Blake Snell who all of late have started to turn it around. Now all of these guys can hit the free agent market again after the season.  Jordan Montgomery said “My Agent Scott Boras really butchered my offseason.” I clearly can read between the lines and Jordan Montgomery might be looking for a new team next year but with new representation as well. We’ll have to see if Montgomery can land the multi year deal he was unable to last winter.

Yaroslav Askarov Landing Spots

By Mike Rifkin

The Nashville Predators have been one of the most aggressive teams in free agency. Bringing in Steven Stamkos, Jonathan Marchessault and Brady Skjei. The best move in my opinion was extending goaltender Juuse Saros to an eight year 61 million dollar contract. Saros last season was 35-24-5 with a 2.86 GAA  and a .906 save percentage with three shutouts. 

With Saros locked up what happens to prospect Yaroslav Askarov?

Askarov, the 11th overall pick in 2020 by the Preds is one of the top goalie prospects in the league. Askarov, earlier this week requested a trade from the organization. Askarov, who has played the last two seasons for the Milwaukee Admirals in the AHL was 30-13-1 with a 2.39 GAA and .911 save percentage with six shutouts. So who should make the call to Barry Trotz to acquire the young Russian goalie. 

Contenders 

Colorado Avalanche : Alexandar Georgiev is entering the final season of his contract and didn’t have a tremendous season last season. Yes he won 38 games, but his save percentage was under .900 and his goals against were over three, the Avs have a win now roster, adding a 22 year old goalie could lengthen their window of contention. 

LA Kings : The Kings are entering a new phase of their organization. The Anze Kopitar/Drew Doughty era has a few seasons left, the Kings did get out of the Pierre Luc Dubois contract and got Darcy Kuemper. But using that fantastic farm system they can add Askarov to pair with Kuemper until Askarov takes over. 

Rebuilding

Columbus Blue Jackets : The Blue Jackets have had a few shocking moments over the last few summers, from signing Johnny Gaudreau to hiring Mike Babcock to this summer bringing in Don Waddell. The Blue Jackets have a need in goal. Daniil Tarasov had a decent season in a backup role and Elvis Merzlikins is someone they can move. 

San Jose Sharks : Mike Grier has discussed this being a long term rebuild in the Bay area. Well they did land the number one pick in the draft in Macklin Celebrini, and they brought in some veterans in Tyler Toffoli and Barclay Goodrow. The cherry on top would be adding a franchise altering goalie. 

Chicago Blackhawks : The Blackhawks as well have had a tremendous summer, adding Tyler Bertuzzi, Teuvo Teravainen among others. The Blackhawks like the Sharks have had their rebuild accelerated because of a number one pick. Petr Mrazek had a solid season, but adding Askarov can put the Blackhawks on a different timeline to win. The one difficult thing is trading within their division. 

Wild Card : 

Anaheim Ducks : There’s only one way this works and that’s if the Ducks part ways with longtime goalie John Gibson. If they do they should be a player here. The Ducks have a young crop of forwards including Trevor Zegras, Mason Mctavish,  Cutter Gauthier, etc… And like the Sharks and Blackhawks adding Askarov can accelerate their rebuild. 

The Predators hold the cards here and can get a lofty price for the 22 year old goalie, we’ll have to wait to see what happens next.

I AM CASTING MY WNBA ROY

BY MARK HALPERN

       When you talk about a sport that has had a major impact over the last year. The WNBA is definitely on the right path for success. This has been a very exciting season because of the emergence of two certain rookies. One had an insane amount of pressure on her and has lived up to the insane hype and the other has gone about her business and become a double-double machine. Both have become faces of the league and hopefully can take the league to the next level. 

    Caitilin Clark and Angel Reese have brought fight and the will to win. Both have their teams fighting for a chance at the playoffs. Caitilin Clark has taken this league by storm (even though she plays for the fever) and is averaging an impressive 17.8 points a game, 5.8 rebounds a game, an impressive 8.3 assists and 1.4 steals a game. Despite this being her rookie season, she has quickly shown how she has grown her game. Every night she goes out with a singular thought and that’s how to win this game. Her teammates are not taking a down step behind her actually their entire team productivity is over 125% better than last year according to a fever official. 

    Now the other outstanding rookie is Angel Reese. Reese in her rookie season is averaging 13.6 points per game, an outstanding 12.3 rebounds a game, and 1.7 assists. One thing that she can work on is shot selection, she doesn’t have the range of Clark, but she is a force in the paint. Reese has made some comments regarding Clark, and while I may not agree with them rivalry is great for the game. 

    When we look at a ROY candidate the nominee is usually based on what they have achieved on the court and what their overall impact has been. I have Clark as the current rookie of the year, both the Fever and the Sky are battling for playoff positioning. But the voting might come down to what do the voters prefer, but one thing is for sure these two entered the league with a ton of hype and at least in there rookie seasons they’re living up to it.

WELL DARN IT’S SAM TO LEAD THE VIKINGS

By Mark Halpern

      Well, here we are again with a Quarterback who doesn’t need that much of an introduction as he has moved around this league and that’s Sam Darnold. Darnold was selected third overall in 2018 by the New York Jets.  I actually liked Darnold  but he was never given the talent for him to succeed. His best season in my opinion was his season in 2021 with the Carolina Panthers. Darnold played in 12 games that season throwing for 2,527 yards, nine touchdowns and 13 interceptions and he was sacked 35 times. Sacks and turnovers have been the story of Darnold’s career. Darnold was the backup Quarterback in San Francisco last year and what’s better than being a part of a Super Bowl team you learn and gain experience and confidence. 

     During the off-season Kirk Cousins left for Atlanta on a massive 4-year deal (only to get dissed by the Falcons drafting Michael Penix) and at that point the Vikings grabbed Darnold to be the starting Quarterback, with the intentions of drafting a Quarterback in the first round and they did just that by moving up in the draft to get J.J MCCarthy. Despite the Vikings continuing to say it’d be a competition during training camp, Darnold began to believe he would be the backup yet again. However, an unfortunate accident at practice confirmed that rookie Quarterback J.J Mcarthy would miss the season due to a torn MCL. Not what any team wants is their number one pick down before he even gets started. Sam Darnold now knows he is the starting Quarterback for the Vikings.

     There are a lot of skeptics out there that Darnold won’t do any better than before due to his age. I tend to disagree with anyone who says he will fail. For the first time he has a above average offensive line, Darnold has an experienced Running back in Aaron Jones who will have a good season with over a thousand yards and 12 total TD’s. Darnold also has been handed the keys to one of the they most Deadly offenses in the NFL today. I have mentioned Jones and what he will accomplish but you have the best wide receiver in football in Justin Jefferson. Darnold has never had a Wide Receiver with Jefferson’s talent and I trust Jefferson will shine with a massive 1400-yard season and 13 Touchdowns. Now if being given the gift of the number one wide receiver in the game Darnold now has one of the best #2 wide receivers in the game with Jordan Addison who had an impressive rookie season (911 yards and 10 TD’s) and is poised for an even better sophomore year and I truly believe we will see both Addison and Jefferson surpass 1000 yards but also possible both attaining double digit Touchdown’s on this season. If that weren’t enough the Vikings also have T.J. Hockenson who is clearly a top five Tight End in the league. Darnold has been given a near perfect offense to work with. The Offensive line is more than capable in making holes but now it comes down to making time and if they can give Darnold that 3 seconds the Vikings will be the talk of the league. This is the best group of weapons that Darnold has ever had and with Kevin O’Connell coming from the Sean McVay/Kyle Shannahan coaching tree Darnold can succeed. 

    I really hope Darnold gets to prove all the nay sayers (yes including myself over the years) wrong and has a “Pro Bowl” season and finally shows why he was worthy of being a first round pick. Who knows if Darnold plays well, maybe he’s played himself into starting somewhere else in 2025.

HOUSTON TEXANS 2025 OUTLOOK

BY MARK HALPERN

    When you are looking at the NFL as a whole no team has improved itself more over the last two seasons than the Houston Texans. The Texans made the right move by getting C.J. Stroud. Stroud excelled as a rookie and led the Texans to the AFC South Division. The Houston Texans have a young team, but they made moves to improve themselves on both sides of the ball. I expect Houston will battle the Jacksonville Jaguars for the top spot for the AFC South.

Stroud threw for 4100 yards 23 TD’s to and only 5 interceptions and ran for 167 yards and three touchdowns in his rookie season. Stroud is an absolute stud of a Quarterback and will be a top 10 Quarterback for years to come. Stroud and the Texans were an unknown going into last season and wound up 10-7 and winning the AFC South. One of the biggest problems for Houston was the lack of a running game (they averaged 96.9 yards per game) They took a chance on former Bills Running Back Devin Singletary and that didn’t work. Singletary wound up leaving to reunite with Brian Daboll and the New York Giants. With Singletary gone, the Texans needed to improve the running back position. They did that with the signing of Joe Mixon. Mixon, an accomplished running back for the Cincinnati Bengals the last few years is a true power lead back that the Texans are missing. Two of the last three seasons Mixon has gone for over 1,000 yards. Mixon is also a threat to catch the ball out of the backfield, he had 52 receptions last season. This should change the Texans offense dramatically, as they should be less one dimensional with the mixing in of Mixon.  The Texans needed another receiver to complement the emergence of Tank Dell and Nico Collins last year. Collins had his best year amassing 1297 yards and 8 TD’s and Dell 700 yards and 7 TD’s but, still even though Collins lead the team in a huge way the lack of experience in this part of the depth chart and they got the one of the best receivers in football by getting Stefon Diggs from Buffalo. Diggs has gone over  1,000-yard receiving the last six seasons. Two of the last three seasons he has scored 10 touchdowns. If that wasn’t scary enough Dalton Schultz is a very accomplished tight end and in this high-powered offense could see numbers like he saw during his Dallas years. The key to this Offense working is the protection and the Houston Line is more than up to the challenge. The key for the offensive line is growth from last year and working out the kinks to get Stroud that extra second if they can. Protecting Stroud will be a priority (just like protecting the QB for any team is) but they will be up to the challenge.

     Now a team is complete without a Defense and this is where the Texans need to build on in areas. First of all, hats off to Jonathan Greenard on his excellent season that included 12.5 sacks. Greenard had a phenomenal season, but he left for the Vikings in free agency. So the Texans needed to get some pass rush help so they signed Danielle Hunter. Hunter had 16.5 sacks last season, and has double digit sacks in four of the last five seasons. Turnovers and pressure on the quarterback is usually how we define how good a defense is. The Texans last year were a +10 in turnover differential, which was the same as the 49ers and Cowboys. They had 46 sacks on the season, once again the same as the Cowboys. With young players like Will Anderson, Derrick Stingley and Jalen Pitre the defense is bright in Houston, and with Demeco Ryans leading the way I expect the Texans defense to be better in 2024.

   If the Texans can improve in certain areas such as penalties and protecting CJ Stroud they can be a real dangerous threat in the AFC. The biggest question is how will they handle expectations? I think they will and I can see them winning 11 games.

DETROIT 2025 OUTLOOK

By MARK HALPERN

       At the end of last season, the Lions were eliminated in the NFC title game by the 49ers. The Lions had the 49ers on the ropes, and a few mistakes cost them a trip to the Super Bowl. The Detroit Lions last year were arguably one of the best teams on the field offensively  and defensively through the first 13 weeks. The offense never lost a beat but the Defense started to not just falter but simply break down. Even though the Lions won their division for the first time since 1993 (NFC Central) you could see the concern in the coaches about the defense ability to keep up with the elite of the elite. The Lions put up one of the best seasons in the franchise last year and should continue into the future.

     The offense is in the top ten in the NFL and could even be ranked higher but the end of the season. Led by Jared Goff and his 4600 yards and 30 touchdowns to only 12 interceptions. Goff was one of the best trades the Lions have made and it has certainly paid off. Goff is true leader not only on but off the field as well. They rewarded Goff for his play with a massive extension. When you look at the weapons the Lions have it’s as good as if not better than 80% of the teams in the league. Running back Jahmyr Gibbs had an impressive rookie season totaling 945 yards and 11 td’s  (1 receiving) and his counterpart David Montgomery had just over 1000 yards and 13 TD’s making them one of the best running back duos in the league and should be more lethal than last year. Now I trust that many coaches know this and will try and slow this down but, it is kind of hard to do when you have a receiving core with St. Brown (1500 yards 10td’s) second year tight end Sam Laporta (889 yards 10 TD’s) these were just the team leaders. Players such as Josh Reynolds and Jameson Williams also played decisive roles in helping getting this team to stardom. The one name that we are waiting to break free is Jameson Williams. He has been hampered by an injury first year and a slow start last year due to suspension.  He has the size and ability to become the #2 on this team and I expect to see a lot from him.

   On the defensive side this defense came out strong and both sides offensive and defensive lead the team to its best start in over a decade. However, once the second half approached the defense faltered to some big teams and I guess you can say their pride was hurt. This doesn’t mean the team didn’t have some big contributors. Adian Hutchinson leading the team with 11.5 sacks and is the voice of this defense. In the secondary Kerby Joseph lead with 4 interceptions and 69 tackles. When it came to big plays on defense Joseph was always around or even making the play so having him back is going to be a big help. You can’t not mention Alex Anzalone who had a monster year totaling 129 combines tackles and assists. The Defensive line will be under heavy pressure in the beginning of this long season as that was one of the biggest collapses in the second half. So, I am sure that the coaches will be working harder on that as well.

     I am going to make a bold statement and say that Gibbs not only takes over the #1 rule duties but will have 1300 yards and 12 touchdowns. I truly think that this offense is built as strong as any other in the league and can match point for point but, if the defense can’t last a full season (let’s face it is hard for any other team) and lose games late in the season and get knocked down a spot or two in the standings the Lions might be watching from home yet again. There are expectations in Detroit this season for the first time in a long time, can they live up to the hype.

Something Brewing

By Mike Rifkin

The Milwaukee Brewers had a fantastic week of baseball. The Brewers took two of three from the Dodgers and swept the Cleveland Guardians, two of the best teams in baseball. The Brewers outscored the Guardians 9-4 over the three games. 

The Brewers own a 11 game lead in the NL Central, the largest division lead across MLB. The Brewers are one game behind the Phillies for best record in the National League and MLB. Most people expected the Brewers to take a step back this season, after the departures of Corbin Burnes and Craig Counsell, and Brandon Woodruff not being able to pitch this season and closer Devin Williams missing the first three months of the season. 

The Brewers have not missed a beat, they are second in ERA only behind the Mariners, last year the Brewers led the league in ERA.. Colin Rea leads the starters with a 3.52 ERA and 11 wins on the season.

 The Brewers young players have made a massive impact, as they are third in baseball in stolen bases. Brice Turang has 37, Jackso Chourio and Blake Perkins have 17 each, Sal Frelick has 15, and Willy Adames has 13. Christian Yelich had 21, before announcing he will miss the rest of the season undergoing back surgery. Yelich was having an renaissance season, before going on the injured list. But the Brewers have been down this road before, playing without Yelich and they’ll have to do it again now. 

Whatever happens in October remains to be seen, but the job Matt Arnold and Pat Murphy have done in replacing David Stearns and Craig Counsell has been amazing. The Brewers have that next man up mentality, and they have shown a ton of resilience. 2024 is a special season for the Brewers.

 DALLAS COWBOYS 2025 OUTLOOK

BY MARK HALPERN

      Well here we are, another football season upon us and another chance at achieving greatness. The Dallas Cowboys haven’t won a Super Bowl since 1995 and each and every year that we think we are on the cusp we end up in a disappointment but, we are always gnawing at the bit for more. Jerry Jones has promised he was all in and up until a few days ago we all were wondering what that meant. 

    At the end of another disappointing season Dallas still has a lot of questions that need to be answered and the most important is getting under the cap to be able to sign Wide Receiver CeeDee Lamb to a long and substantial contract Most Cowboy fans are holding out hope that a deal gets done soon. However, I am hopeful that a Dak Prescott extension is done and just not announced. There is only way to get these guarantees and that was by making Dak the first $60million Dollar Quarterback and making a huge guaranteed deal to lighten cap hit until the end of career. This also can make Cowboy fans calm down a little bit and know there is money left for Micah next year. 

   Offseason there are a ton of holes to be filled more on the defensive  side. The Offensive line needed help and of course since Tony Pollard left to join the Titans on a three year deal the only two who were left on the roster was Rico Dowdle and Deuce Vaughn and neither one of them are close to  starters and with the plethora of Running backs to hit the market all Dallas fans wanted was one of them. Whether it was Barkley, Henry, Ekeler any of them would have been upgrades but Dallas had very little wiggle room to play with so they looked at the board and saw the one name that fit and should have never left and that was Zeke Elliott. It will be nice to have him back in the fold, but he will be part of a running back committee. Rico Dowdle and Deuce Vaughn should also get some opportunities.

   On the Defensive side Dallas’s first Free Agent was Erik Kendricks who played for the Chargers.Kendricks had 79 tackles and 3.5 sacks for the Chargers last season in 15 games. He will be a welcomed addition into the linebacker field with Parsons. There is no secret that the Defensive Line has been a weak link but the Cowboys made two very important trades that are going to help shore up the defensive line. First from the New York Jets Carl Lawson who has good talent, but was limited to six games last season. In 2022 Lawson had seven sacks and 33 tackles. Even more curious is that the New York Giants traded Jordan Phillips, another big guy for the Defensive line. You rarely see interdivisional trades and this one helps make Dallas fans see that the organization is now filling in the holes where the help was needed.

    There is a lot of pressure on a lot of people within the organization. The Cowboys have a tough schedule, starting with the Browns, but with the roster and the coaching that is in place that the Cowboys will be in for a rough fight but will be more and ready to meet the challenge.

Leafs Of Change

By Mike Rifkin

The Toronto Maple Leafs have changed captains, giving the captaincy to Auston Matthews, replacing John Tavares. Matthews, the 2021-22 Hart Trophy winner was drafted first overall by the Leafs in 2016 and has become one of the premier goal scorers in the NHL. Matthews has won the Rocket Richard trophy three times including last season where he scored 69 (nice), Matthews is 32 goals away from 400 in his career. 

There are two different ways to look at Matthews being named captain of the Leafs : we can look at as the honor it is meant to be, which it is or we can look at it as a slight at John Tavares, personally I think it’s a little bit of both. Yes, Matthews should be the captain of the team, he is the face of the franchise and he is the team’s highest paid player. Does the captain need to be the highest paid player? No, but the investment the Leafs have put into Matthews makes him the captain and let’s be honest about something this was coming everyone knew it. Now, for Tavares who signed with the Leafs in 2018, was named captain a season later. Tavares as a Leaf has 184 goals and 419 points in 440 games played, and 12 goals and 24 points in 38 career playoff games, including the series clincher against the Lightning in 2023, helping the Leafs win their first playoff series in 20 years. 

I think there’s another piece of significance in naming Matthews the captain. Should it have happened already? Emphatically Yes, but I think there’s another significance to this, this is the final season John Tavares is under contract with the Leafs. Does that mean if the Leafs don’t win Tavares won’t be back with the club in hopes of trying to win? I don’t know, but I think if the Leafs fail again changes are on the horizon. This summer they changed the coach and the captain, last offseason the General Manager was ousted, but if the Leafs fail in 2024-25 will there be more changes? Players like Sidney Crosby, Alex Ovechkin, and Nathan Mackinnon all were franchise altering players, and they got viewed in a different light when they won a Cup. Connor McDavid, the best player in the world has yet to win a Cup, if the Leafs don’t win Auston Matthews is going to be ushered into a new spotlight. “With great power comes great responsibility”. It’s symbolic that the Leafs changed captains, because if they fail this year, the Shanaplan era will be over and the Matthews era will just be beginning.

Walk This Way 

By Mike Rifkin

No, this is not a tribute to the greatest American Rock Band that has announced their retirement but congrats on a tremendous journey.. 

In the Mets 9-4 loss to the Oakland Athletics Mets’ pitchers walked six hitters. Walks have been a theme for the Mets pitching staff, who have walked 447 hitters, only the White Sox have more. The Mets walked nearly 600 batters last season and in 2022 the team only walked 435 hitters. So why the increase in walks? Part of the reason is the starting rotation doesn’t have a ton of swing and miss in it especially with Kodai Senga and Christian Scott out with injuries. The bullpen just hasn’t had the consistency all season to it and the walks have cost the Mets all season. 

So, what’s the solution to the walks issue? Well, David Stearns talked about people being under evaluation this season, does that include Jeremy Hefner, who was a holdover from the Buck Showalter administration. Will Stearns and Mendoza hire their own pitching coach or is this a personnel problem and the Mets will find guys who are more strike throwers over the winter. 

I know Juan Soto is going to be a free agent and will command a lot of money. While fans like to spend other people’s money especially a billionaire’s like Steve Cohen, but pitching should be the top priority. With names such as Corbin Burnes, Walker Buehler, Max Fried, Shane Bieber, and Nathan Eovaldi on the market it makes sense (and that’s just starters). No matter how the last month plays out, a major  priority for the Mets should be to find pitchers who don’t walk as many hitters.