WHAT IS MONTGOMERY WAITING FOR?

BY MARK HALPERN

    With the MLB season already begun the question is what is the best free agent pitcher Montgomery waiting for? Montgomery could pretty much pick any team that has interest in him but after seeing what clubs spent on pitchers at the beginning of the free agency period could have something to do with it. When you have Aaron Nola getting 7 years 172 million and Sonny Gray 3 year $75million contracts Montgomery was licking his lips. However, like always the ones who wait the longest are going to be the last ones to sign. The market is dropping fast as we have seen players like Blake Snell who was holding out for a big time payday after his Cy Young season but it never arrived. Instead he chose to accept a 2 year deal with SF to just keep pace salary wise. 

    Montgomery needs to see this and see it soon as the league started in Korea this past week and the rest of the MLB begins at the end of next week. Even if he signs now there would be the thinking, he will not even be MLB ready and will need time to ramp up his activities that his price could drop even farther. Montgomery has plenty of teams in contact with him but is rumored to want to go to less than a handful of teams and just because he doesn’t sign by this week doesn’t mean he can’t sign in 2 weeks or wait longer (which makes no sense.)

A TRUE DH

BY MARK HALPERN 

For the better part of the off season and spring training the Mets were really only focused on one player and that was Yamamoto. The Mets organization had come out and said we will not be signing players (that includes extension for the Polar Bear) more than what we need. Well one spot that lacked was the Designated hitter role and with last year’s embarrassment of Daniel Vogelbach the Mets opened the purse a little to welcome a true Designated hitter that fits this team in J.D. Martinez. Martinez had played for the Astros, Tigers, Red Sox (where he spent most of his time and last year with the Dodgers. 

   This is a home run for the organization cause over his life time J.D Martinez has hit for a career .287 with 315 home runs and 1,639 hits and is a feared bat in any line up. This will also help protect Alonso in the lineup a little. 

   The Mets in my opinion now have a solid lineup with speed, power and experience. The Defense around the diamond is good but there is some risk at 3B with Baty/Vientos sharing the time for now. The rotation that’s another whole bag of cats and let’s just celebrate the new Designated Hitter for the Mets.

HART-EMI PANARIN

BY MIKE RIFKIN

In the Rangers 5-2 win over the Boston Bruins, Artemi Panarin recorded a Hat Trick giving him a career high 41 goals and 97 points. Both put Panarin in the top 10 in the NHL. After the 2019-20 season Panarin was named as a Hart Trophy finalist, but ultimately finished third behind Leon Draisaitl and Nathan Mackinnon. But, what about this year for the breadman? Panarin is 31 points ahead of Vincent Trocheck for the team lead, and eight goals ahead of Chris Kreider. 

Now there are certainly other candidates for the Hart. Nathan Mackinnon, Nikita Kucherov, Connor McDavid, Auston Matthews all are in the conversation for the Hart, but only three nominees are chosen. Mackinnon and Kucherov have won a Stanley Cup something Panarin wants. Panarin has 20 points in 30 career playoff games for the Rangers. Last year in a first round exit against the Devils he was limited to two assists, and Panarin took that personally and has played on a mission this season. 

Can the Rangers win a cup? Yes, especially if the this Artemi Panarin shows up in the playoffs, but even with about 15 games left in the season Artemi Panarin should be a Hart Trophy finalist. 

Don’t Poke The Bear

By Mike Rifkin

One of the big headlines entering the 2024 Mets season is the impending free agency of first baseman Pete Alonso. The 29 year old Alonso had 46 home runs and 118 RBI last season. Outside of 2020 Alonso has hit over 30 home runs and drove in more than 90 runs.

Over the weekend Mets owner Steve Cohen spoke to the media and said the team and the star first baseman have yet to engage in extension talks and expects Alonso to hit free agency after the season.  Cohen said “ I think at this point for Pete it’s best for him to go have a great year and not be distracted. I think that’s best for the ballclub. We know how to do this. We did it with Edwin Diaz, we did it with Brandon Nimmo after the season.  We’ll figure it out when we get there.” This goes hand in hand with what new President of Baseball Ops David Stearns has said when it comes to extension talks. Now the fan part of me believes that there have been some behind the scenes discussions about an extension, especially when Alonso arrived at Spring Training and didn’t put a deadline on a possible extension. But then there’s the major question of what if the Mets are nine games out of the last wildcard spot at the trade deadline. Would they move Alonso at that point and hope they’d still have a shot at re-signing him during free agency (thin Aroldis Chapman to Yanks). Or would Alonso not give the Mets the time of day? One thing fans love is when teams are able to keep their homegrown talent, in 2012 the Mets (under different ownership) had a decision whether to keep David Wright or Jose Reyes. Both were fan favorites and as homegrown talent the fans felt differently about them. 

Alonso is tied for fourth in franchise history in home runs with Howard Johnson, only trailing Wright, Mike Piazza and Darryl Strawberry. What’s something those three guys have in common they’ll all have their numbers retired by the organization at some point. Now as fans it’s ok to be afraid that Alonso can leave as a free agent, we have to have faith in an owner that has never allowed us to doubt him before. But for the sake of Steve Cohen and David Stearns I wouldn’t poke the bear or the fan base for that matter.

IS IT TIME FOR A SALARY CAP IN THE MLB?

By Mark Halpern

For years and years many different sports teams are controlled by the use of a salary cap. A salary cap is a total amount a team is allowed to spend on their professional roster. The NFL, NBA and NHL all have salary caps but, the one that doesn’t is Baseball.

   Now you are probably thinking that I am a fan of a lower scale ball club that can’t even win 60 games and doesn’t spend a wooden Nickel on a player. No, I am a die-hard New York Mets fan so my team would be greatly affected but not as affected as some teams like the Dodgers, Yankees and Padres just to name a few. The question becomes how to create a salary cap on a game that has 162 regular season games and then playoffs added on. That’s a lot of time on and off the field playing and whatnot. Its hard to compare and contrast all the leagues that have salary caps and how they managed to keep the needle balanced.  The big difference in Baseball compared to the other sports is that they play 5 out of every 7 days where as the NFL each team is 1 game a week, NBA 2-3 games a week, NHL 2-3 games a week so it’s kind of hard to put a monetary number right now.

  The reason for this article is that we just saw the Los Angeles Dodgers spend $1 billion dollars on just two players. Where do we draw a line in the sand where there are teams not just the dodgers that have spent like this (not eclipsing the billion mark) but coming close. There are top financial teams and then there are teams that are looking to get away from their fan base to start a new era. When I see that teams are able to afford this money (and with no issue) and then the fans that are able to attend are the Rich because to take a family of 4 to a game these days with food travel its over a $500 day and for better than 70% of families in this country can’t afford to attend because of they way tickets have to be priced so that the “Business” end of baseball is never in the red ink because if they were there would be no team.

   I see the need for a salary cap not to control teams spending but finding a way that every demographic can take their family and enjoy a game at the stadium that they are playing. As teams spend more the cost for fans goes through the roof where most people say these days “I’ll watch them on TV.” And that is the trend we are leading up to. IN my humble opinion no fans at the stadium then there will be no team to play there. The number of huge contracts of Guaranteed money is horrendous in the league. However, its not against the rules so you have players who have 8-10 deals over 300 million fully guaranteed and yes, the clubs pay them but, in the end it’s fans $$$$ coming in that keeps them. If a salary cap were to be implemented or even discussed it wouldn’t happen until the next CBA is do and we might not here about it then. You have to begin to think when is enough, enough.

WHY IS DALLAS SO QUIET

BY MARK HALPERN

    During the Jerry Jones era as owner of the Dallas Cowboys keep on trucking, his mouth does more work than his actions. The Cowboys have been rumored and linked to a ton of players and on the biggest day of free agent signings the Cowboys let more players leave then they signed. 

   This offseason the Cowboys have said goodbye to Running Back Tony Pollard and Center Tyler Biadasz and Defensive Lineman Dorrance Armstrong but welcomed Linebacker Eric Kendricks, who backed out of a deal with the 49ers. Jerry Jones time and time again has promised big names to the Cowboys family but, hasn’t really produced it yet. With the biggest rush of Free Agents to be signed one name was not on the list and that was star running back Derrick Henry. Henry was the running back for the Tennessee Titans and has had a great career with 9,502 yards and 97 total touchdowns (90 rush, three rec, four pass)and would vault the Cowboys right up there next to Philly at the top of the NFC East.

  As great as that sounds there is no joy in the Cowboys organization as I am sure they are working out every cap move that has to be made especially with Lamb on his final year and next year Parsons. Right now, the Cowboys are restructuring Dak Prescott’s contract to make room for the two corresponding moves. The Cowboys have invested so much in Prescott that letting him leave would be just bad Business and if one thing Jones is great at is a businessman and needs to find the room to add the power house running back (if that is what they plan to do) and put them in real contention for a shot at the Super Bowl. But knowing what free agents that were out there this begs one question for Jerry, why did you wait so long to do anything?

2024 DUELING MOCK DRAFTS

BY Mike Rifkin and Mark Halpern.

MIKE RIFKIN MOCK DRAFT 1

  1. BEARS – CALEB WILLIAMS – QB – USC- Who knows what the Justin Fields trade market looks like at the moment but for the second consecutive year the Bears have the number one pick, they cannot pass on another QB. 
  2. COMMANDERS – JAYDEN DANIELS – QB – LSU – The Commanders find their QB solution here. Daniels, the reigning Heisman Trophy winner brings a lot of upside. 
  3. VIKINGS (FROM NE) DRAKE MAYE – QB – NORTH CAROLINA – After losing Kirk Cousins to the Falcons, the Vikings find their next QB. Maye needs to work on some things but there is a lot of upside to him. (Trade Minnesota sends 11, 42, Minnesota’s first rd pick in 2025 to NE in exchange for 3)
  4. CARDINALS – MARVIN HARRISON JR – WR – OHIO STATE – The top pass catcher comes off the board here. Harrison gives the Cardinals a true number one receiver.
  5. CHARGERS – MALIK NABERS – WR – LSU. The Chargers face a dilemma when it comes to Mike Williams and Keenan Allen and their cap situation. Quentin Johnston didn’t have the best rookie season, Nabers is a solid receiver for Herbert.
  6. GIANTS- ROME ODUNZE – WR – WASHINGTON – I don’t care if Daniel Jones, Kerry Collins or Fran Tarkenton back at QB, the Giants skilled positions are some of the worst in the NFL. Odunze led the NCAA in receiving yards last season. 
  7. TITIANS – JOE ALT – OT – NOTRE DAME – The Titans were tied for fourth in the league in most sacks allowed. To truly see how Will Levis develops, they need to protect him. In steps Alt the All-American from Notre Dame.
  8. BRONCOS (FROM ATL) – JJ MCCARTHY- QB – MICHIGAN- The Russell Wilson era in Denver was quicker than Michael Jordan’s baseball career. The draft allows Sean Payton to pick his guy. With Mccarthy the Broncos are getting a proven winner with a lot of upside.(TRADE : DENVER SENDS 11, 76, 2025 FIRST FOR 8 AND 109) 
  9. BEARS – DALLAS TURNER – EDGE – ALABAMA – When you think of the Bears you think defense. Well the Bears last season had the second fewest sacks in the NFL last season. Turner is the best pass rusher in the draft, and if you look at his numbers in college the only player with more sacks was Will Anderson (who played opposite Turner at Bama).
  10. JETS – OLUMUYIWA FASHANU – OT – PENN ST – Mekhi Becton is a free agent and really struggled last season. Unless Aaron Rodgers is going to be RFK’S VP candidate the Jets need to protect him. 
  11. PATRIOTS – BO NIX – QB – OREGON – THE PATRIOTS SIGNED JACOBY BRISSETT TO BE THEIR QB AND ALLOW NIX TO DEVELOP. NIX RAN A CREATIVE OFFENSE AT OREGON IT MIGHT TAKE TIME FOR HIM TO DEVELOP AT THE NFL LEVEL 
  12. FALCONS – JARED VERSE – EDGE – FLORIDA ST – THE FALCONS HAVE THEIR QB IN KIRK COUSINS, NOW THEY FOCUS ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE BALL. VERSE CAN BE AN EXTREMELY GOOD PASS RUSHER.
  13. RAIDERS – TERRION ARNOLD – CB ALABAMA – THE RAIDERS HAVE STRUCK OUT ON YOUNG CORNERS RECENTLY. WHILE THEY HAVE OTHER NEEDS, THEY NEED TO FIND A WAY TO STOP PATRICK MAHOMES AND JUSTIN HERBERT.
  14. SAINTS – JC LATHAM – OT ALABAMA – THE SAINTS ARE A WILDCARD TEAM. THEY HAVE TO FIND A WAY TO PROTECT DEREK CARR. LATHAM WAS EXPLOSIVE AT THE COMBINE AND CAN BE A PLUG AND PLAY GUY.
  15. COLTS – BROCK BOWERS – TE -GEORGIA – WHAT’S A YOUNG QB’S BEST FRIEND, A RELIABLE SAFETY VALVE. BOWERS IS A X FACTOR AND ASK GEORGIA HOW MUCH THEY’LL MISS HIM. RICHARDSON TO BOWERS MIGHT BE THE NEW FLORIDA GEORGIA LINE. 
  16. SEAHAWKS – LAITAU LATU – EDGE – UCLA – THE SEAHAWKS WERE MIDDLE OF THE PACK WHEN IT CAME TO SACKS LAST SEASON. LATU IS THE MOST POLISHED PASS RUSHER IN THE DRAFT AND COULD BE AN EXCELLENT FIT IN MIKE MACDONALD’S SCHEME.
  17. JAGUARS – QUINYON MITCHELL – CB – TOLEDO – MITCHELL IS LONG, FAST AND ATHLETIC. THAT SHOULD HELP THE JAGS WHO NOW HAVE TO SLOW DOWN THE TITANS AND TEXANS PASSING GAMES.
  18.  BENGALS – BRIAN THOMAS JR. – WR – LSU – TEE HIGGINS IS PLAYING ON THE FRANCHISE TAG AND HAS REQUESTED A TRADE, TYLER BOYD IS A FREE AGENT. JOE BURROW NEEDS ANOTHER WEAPON. THOMAS HAS SIZE AND SPEED TO HELP JA’MARR CHASE ON THE OUTSIDE. 
  19. RAMS – TROY FAUTANU – OL- WASHINGTON – THE RAMS GOAL THIS OFFSEASON HAS BEEN WORK THE OFFENSIVE LINE. IF MATTHEW STAFFORD IS PROTECTED HE IS STILL REALLY GOOD. FAUTANU HAS UNREAL SPEED FOR A LINEMAN.
  20. STEELERS NATE WIGGINS – CB CLEMSON – WIGGINS IS FAST. PUTTING HIM OPPOSITE JOEY PORTER JR GIVES THE STEELERS A NICE YOUNG CORNER DUO.
  21. DOLPHINS – JACKSON POWERS -JOHNSON- C – OREGON – POWERS -JOHNSON IS ATHLETIC AND WOULD HELP AN OFFENSIVE LINE THAT DESPERATELY NEEDS THE HELP. 
  22.  EAGLES – CHOP ROBINSON – EDGE – PENN ST – THE EAGLES HAVE GIVEN HAASON REDDICK PERMISSION TO SPEAK TO OTHER TEAMS. 
  23. VIKINGS (VIA TEXANS) – TALIESE FUAGA – OG – OREGON ST- THE VIKINGS ALREADY MOVED UP FOR THE QB OF THE FUTURE. NOW THEY GET FUAGA, WHO SLIPS IN HERE AND CAN HELP THE OFFENSIVE LINE
  24. COWBOYS – TYLER GUYTON – OT -OKLAHOMA – TYRON SMITH IS STILL A FREE AGENT. GUYTON CAN SLOT RIGHT IN AND BRINGS ATHLETICISM TO A DALLAS O LINE THAT NEEDS TO PROTECT DAK. 
  25. PACKERS – COOPER DEJEAN – CB – IOWA – AFTER THE ADDITION OF XAVIER MCKINNEY, DEJEAN WILL PLAY ACROSS FROM JAIRE ALEXANDER. DEJAN HAS GREAT INSTINCTS AND BY PLAYING AT IOWA WON’T HAVE TO ADJUST TO THE WEATHER.
  26. BUCS – KOOL AID MCKINSTRY – CB – ALABAMA – THE BUCS TRADED AWAY CARLTON DAVIS. MCKINSTRY IS BIG AND FAST AND COULD MATCHUP WELL AGAINST OPPOSING RECEIVERS IN THE NFC SOUTH.
  27. CARDINALS – KINGSLEY SUAMATIA – OT BYU – THE CARDINALS ARE STICKING TO THEIR WORD THAT KYLER MURRAY IS THEIR GUY. AT 4 THEY GET THE BEST RECEIVER FOR HIM, NOW THEY GRAB PROTECTION. SUAMATIA IS VERY ATHLETIC FOR HIS SIZE.
  28. BILLS – ADONAI MITCHELL – WR – TEXAS – MITCHELL PUT ON A SHOW AT THE COMBINE WITH HIS SPEED. THE BILLS HAVE A NEED AT RECEIVER AFTER GABE DAVIS LEFT AND THE CURIOUS CASE OF STEFON DIGGS CONTINUES. 
  29.  LIONS – KAMARI LASSITER – CB – GEORGIA – THE LIONS WERE SO CLOSE TO BEING IN THE SUPER BOWL, AND PART OF THE REASON THEY DIDN’T WAS THEIR SECONDARY. LASSITER WILL PAIR WITH THE NEWLY ACQUIRED CARLTON DAVIS TO HELP DETROIT.
  30. RAVENS – XAVIER WORTHY – WR – TEXAS – WORTHY HAD AN EXCELLENT 40 YARD DASH AT THE COMBINE. THE RAVENS HAVE A NEED AFTER CUTTING OBJ. PUTTING WORTHY WITH LAST YEAR’S FIRST RD PICK ZAY FLOWERS GIVES THE RAVENS A LOT OF SPEED.
  31. 49ERS – JER’ZHAN NEWTON – DT – ILLINOIS – HERE IS YOUR ARIK ARMSTEAD REPLACEMENT. NEWTON HAS GREAT VALUE HERE AT 31. 
  32. CHIEFS – KEON COLEMAN – WR – FSU – COLEMAN GIVES MAHOMES A MAJOR WEAPON AND A TREMENDOUS REDZONE TARGET. WITH HOW RASHEE RICE DEVELOPED AT THE END OF LAST YEAR AND THE SIGNING OF HOLLYWOOD BROWN THE CHIEFS OFFENSE WILL BE BACK TO BEING DYNAMIC.

Halpern Mock Draft #2

  1. NE Caleb Williams(trade with Chi) Chi gets (Trade Chi gets 3, 34,103, yr,2025 1st and 3rd)
  2. Washington Drake Maye 
  3. Chi Marvin Harrison JR (#3 trade with NE)
  4. Ari Malik Nabers
  5. MIN (trade with Chargers) BO Nix QB
  6. NYG Rome Odunze WR
  7. Ten Joe Alt OL 
  8. Atlanta Dallas Turner
  9. Chi Jc Latham OL
  10. NYj Tali Fugaga
  11. LAC Brock Bowers (trade with MIN)TE
  12. Den J.J McCarthy QB
  13. LV Olumuyiwa Fashanu OL
  14. NO Byron Murphy DT
  15. IND Quinyon Mitchell CB
  16. SEA Amarius Mims OT
  17. JAX Jackson Powers Johnson OL
  18. CIN Tyler Guyton OL
  19. LAR Terrion Arnold CB
  20. PIT Adonai Mitchell WR
  21. MIA Graham Barton C
  22. PHI Chop Robinson EDGE
  23. LAC Cooper De Jean CB
  24. DALLAS Laiatu Latu DE
  25. GB  Kool-aid McKinstry CB
  26. TB Kamari Lassiter CB
  27. ARI Keon Coleman Wr
  28. BUF Ladd McConkey WR
  29. DET Jer’Zhan Newton DT
  30. Balt Jordan Morgan OL
  31. 49ers Brian Thomas Jr. WR
  32. KC Xavier Worthy WR

This Week in Wrestling 3/15/2024

By JEFF KNAPP

Congratulations are in order for Muhammad Ali and his family on his induction into the WWE Hall of Fame, albeit a few decades to late, but great to see, nonetheless.

Speaking of the WWE Hall of Fame, it was also announced this week that Thunderbolt Patterson will also be inducted into the hall of fame. To read more about him, please click on the link: Thunderbolt Patterson – Wikipedia

After TNA’s Sacrifice PPV this past Friday, which I got a few picks wrong, was a solid show and a few members of the roster walked away as new champions. With that said, congratulations to Eddie Edwards & Brian Myers of “The System” in becoming the new TNA Tag Team Champions. Speaking of new tag team champions, the Knockouts division have new tag team champions with Spitfire (Jody Threat & Dani Luna). TNA also had some championship stay put, and although a great showing from Eric Young, Xia Brookside and Tasha Steelz, both Moose and Jordynne Grace retained their World Championships.

Last week we saw the debut of Okada to AEW and now this past Wednesday at AEW’s Big Business in Boston we saw the debut of Mercedes Mone FKA Sasha Banks. The crowd seemed pretty happy to see the multi time world champion.

TNA Wrestling has announced a partnership with the Albany (NY) Firebirds of the Arena Football League. Moose and AJ Francis will be the Honorary Captains for the Albany Firebirds of the Arena Football League for the team’s home game on Thursday, May 2, against the Nashville Kats. This happens the day before TNA has a PPV followed by TV tapings May 3-4, at the Washington Avenue Armory

It was announced that on Saturday April 20 at Rebellion that Nic Nemeth will challenge Moose for the TNA World Championship.

ROH has announced 2 matches for their upcoming Supercard of Honor PPV on April 5th in Philly. The 2 matches announced are:

ROH World Championship Match: Eddie Kingston vs. Mark Briscoe

ROH Women’s Championship Match: Athena vs. Hikaru Shida

 Rollcall of current Champions across the wrestling world

WWE

WWE Universal Championship – Roman Reigns

World Heavyweight Champion – Seth Rollins

WWE Undisputed Tag Team Champions – Judgement Day

WWE Women’s Champion – Iyo Sky

Women’s World Champion – Rhea Ripley

WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions – The Kabuki Warriors

WWE US Champion – Logan Paul

WWE Intercontinental Champion – Gunther

NXT

NXT Championship- Ilja Dragunov

NXT Women’s Champion – Lyra Valkyria

North American Champion – Oba Femi

Tag Team Champions – The Wolf Dogs (Bron Breakker and Baron Corbin)

Heritage Cup – Charlie Dempsey

AEW

AEW World Champion – Samoa Joe

TNT Champion – Christian

Women’s Champion – Toni Storm

TBS Champion – Julia Hart

Tag Team Champions – VACANT (Tournament to crown the new champs will start soon)

Trios Champions – The Acclaimed and Billy Gunn

AEW International Champion – Roderick Strong                                                      

AEW Continental Champion – Eddie Kingston

TNA Wrestling

World Champion – Moose

X Division – Mustafa Ali

Tag Team Champions – The System (Eddie Edwards and Brian Myers)

Digital Media Champion – Crazzy Steve

Knockouts Champion – Jordynne Grace

Knockouts Tag Champions – Spitfire (Dani Luna and Jody Threat)

ROH

ROH World Champion – Eddie Kingston

ROH TV Champion – Kyle Fletcher

ROH Pure Champion – Wheeler Yuta

ROH Tag Champions – The Kingdom (Matt Taven & Mike Bennett)

ROH Women’s Champion – Athena

ROH Six Man Tag Champions – Bullet Club Gold (Jay White & Austin & Colton Gunn)

NJPW

IWGP World Champion – Tetsuya Naito

IWGP Global Heavyweight – Nick Nemeth

IWGP Junior Heavyweight – Sho

Strong Openweight Champion – Eddie Kingston

IWGP Television Champion – Matt Riddle

IWGP Tag Team Champions – Bullet Club (Kenta & Chase Owens)

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions – Bullet Club War Dogs (Drilla Moloney and Clark Connors)

Strong Openweight Tag Team Champions – Guerrillas of Destiny (Hikuleo and El Phantasmo)

NEVER Openweight Champion – Evil

NEVER Openweight Six Man Tag Champions – Vacant

KOPW 2023 – Great O Khan

IWGP Women’s Champion – Maya Iwatani (Shared with Stardom)

Strong Women’s Champion – Stephanie Vaquer (Shared with Stardom)

NWA

NWA Worlds Heavyweight Champion – EC3

NWA World TV Champion – Max The Impaler (unified men’s and women’s)

NWA World Jr Heavyweight Champion – Colby Corino

NWA National Champion – “Thrillbilly Silas Mason

NWA World Tag Team Champions – Blunt Force Trauma – (Carnage & Damage)

NWA US Tag Team Champions – The Immortals (Kratos & Odinson)

NWA World Women’s Champion – Kenzie Paige

NWA World Women’s TV Champion – Max The Impaler

NWA World Women’s Tag Team Champions – The King Bees (Charity King & Danni Bee)

AAA – Triple A Worldwide

AAA Mega Champion – El Hijo Del Vikingo

AAA Latin American Champion – Octagon Jr

AAA World Cruiserweight Champion – Komander

AAA World Tag Team Champions – Nueva Generacion Dinamita (Sanson & Forastero)

AAA World Trios Champions – Los Vipers (Abismo Negro Jr, Psicosis & Toxin)

AAA Reina de Reinas Champion – Flammer

CMLL – Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre

CMLL World Heavyweight Champion – Gran Guerrero

CMLL World Light Heavyweight Champion – Niebla Roja

CMLL World Middleweight Champion – Templario

CMLL World Welterweight Champion – Titan

CMLL World Lightweight Champion – Stigma

CMLL World Tag Team Champions – Los Nuevos Ingobernables (Ángel de Oro & Niebla Roja)

CMLL World Trios Champions – Los Bárbaros (Dragon Rojo Jr., Bárbaro Cavernario & El Terrible)

CMLL World Women’s Champion – Stephanie Vaquer

CMLL World Women’s Tag Team Champions – Stephanie Vaquer and Zeuxis

Stardom

World of Stardom Champion (main title) – Maika

Wonder of Stardom Champion (secondary title ie IC tite) – Saori Anou

Goddess of Stardom Champions (tag) – AphroditE – (Saya Kamitani & Utami Hayashishita)

Artist of Stardom Champions (trios) – Abarenbo GE (Syuri, Mirai and Ami Sohrei)

High Speed Champion (lightweight or x type of title) Mei Seira

A FREE AGENT TSUNAMI

BY MARK HALPERN

    Well NFL free agency hit like a Tsunami after a underwater earthquake happens. However, it wasn’t a bad thing as many of the top players have either been traded or have found their way on to new teams for the 2024 season. We as a network knew that a huge day was coming but wasn’t ready for the flood that came after the gates opened. As our podcast Wishbone Shotgun will be fully recapping the barrage that has happened this week here are the Old Ops Guy’s view on what happened.

Saquon Barkley/EAGLES :  We all knew he was destined to go somewhere where he had a chance to win a ring but, the rival Eagles now that I could not predict. I heard Bill “Corpus Crispi” Murphy scream when this came out as he is a Giants fan and I of course am the oldest Cowboy fan of the group. Barkley will be part of one of the most Dangerous offenses with A.J Brown, Devonta Smith and as long as he is not hurting too much Jalen Hurts.

Kirk Cousins/FALCONS: Great way for Krik to mess up my mock drafts by going here. I truly don’t think he will ever have the receivers he did with the Vikings but, Drake London gets an upgrade here. Atlanta overpaid and mind you he I returning from same injury as to Aaron Rodgers.

Deandre Swift/BEARS: We all knew that Swift was on the move (No NOT that Swift) and I think he picked the right team to go to. Swift signed with the Bears today also on a 3-year deal. This offense is young and has big possibilities. The question remains will it be Fields or Williams handing him the ball.

Josh Jacobs/PACKERS: Decided to sign with The Green Bay Packers today. In a corresponding move they released Aaron Jones who went to the rival Vikings. I think he just wanted to piss the Pack off. Jacobs is a huge improvement to the Packers offense. Love got a little love today.

Jerry Jeudy/BROWNS : Was traded from the Broncos to the Browns giving the Browns a really significant 1-2 punch at Wide Receiver with Cooper on one side and Judey on the other. Let’s not forget that they get back Nick Chubb as well. Hope Watson is getting plenty of rubdowns now with the amount of work he is going to put in this season.

Gardner Minshew/RAIDERS : One of the most undervalued players in the NFL has signed with the Las Vegas Raiders to compete for the starting job. I have liked his play since he was a rookie and just needs a team to see his talents like the rest of us do.

Devin Singletary/GIANTS : Yet again being asked to be the featured back when he has failed twice before (Buffalo and Houston) and will not have much more luck on this Giants team. This is a joke of a signing by the Giants and should be compared to putting a butterfly bandage on a huge gash.

Zach Ertz/COMMANDERS : For a guy coming to the end of his career, Ertz has made the most of his time bouncing from team to team. With this Commanders team most likely seeking a QB in the draft Ertz could be a good safety valve and would have the opportunity to start with the release of Logan Thomas.

Gus Edwards / CHARGERS: With Ekeler testing Free Agency Edwards will share the back field here but could be the opening day starter. He has been overshadowed by his time in Baltimore and has a good chance to improve with this full throttle offense.

Robert Hunt/PANTHERS: After a great couple of years with the Dolphins protecting Tua,  Hunt will be protecting sophomore QB in Bryce Young instead. This was a great signing for this team, as protecting Young was a problem last year. One of the biggest deals of the day. The Panthers went on the hunt for protecting their franchise cub.

Russel Wilson/STEELERS : Well can’t say I was surprised by this move as every analyst knew that Denver was going to try and move Wilson after the horrid seasons he had with Denver. The Pittsburgh Steelers sweep in and get their QB #1 for this year meaning Pickett will be painting fences. I am not sure how good a move this is for the Steelers? I think the Broncos gave a huge sigh of relief when someone said yes. I am sure Lovie Smith will be looking to really upgrade the RB and WR positions in the draft and trade. The Broncos are officially rebuilding the entire franchise.

Michael Pittman/COLTS: Decides to stay on a generous team friendly deal (71 million) to be the #1 WR in the Colts Depth Chart. I say friendly cause I think the Colts just rewarded good play and wanted to keep some familiarity in the back field.

Michael Gallup: HAS NOT BEEN TRADED YET. However, the Cowboys have given Gallup the permission to seek a trade with any club that would have him. It will ultimately come down to the Cowboys Releasing him. I am unsure of the compensation, but a change of scenery for Gallup might benefit both sides. 

  I think I got my point across on some of the moves. For a full recap of today’s move along with all moves tune in to Wishbone Shotgun for full coverage. For now, the New York Giants organization is still the biggest joke by not tagging and extending Barkley last season. 

CH-CHANGES

GOOD LUCK TONY

TYLER YOU TURNCOAT

BY MARK HALPERN 

Since the disappointing ending to a good team record, the Cowboys are starting to Restructure, let free agents leave and re-sign new ones and of course seek trades that make sense. Today we saw Tony Pollard accept a 3-year deal with the Tennessee. As a die-hard Cowboy fan, I wish Tony Pollard the very best in the AFC. I truly believe he will have some success. However, as a Dallas fan I hate to see a player go to a division rival (oh just wait till my bit on Saquon) and Tyler Biadasz went to the Commanders on a 3-year deal as well. I don’t care if he went to another NFC team (just not division) so may he like finishing dead last for the next 3 years. But he will reunite with new Commanders Head Coach Dan Quinn. It’s tough to see some guys go, and we are accepting of the changes.