Little Shop of Horrors ….
So there we have it, the NBA Playoffs were something of a failure, ,while the NBA Finals become abhorrent bore and blur. In the aftermath of it all , we had the NBA Draft with all of the uncertainty and drama you would expect at this time of the year. Now comes the idiocy of the fallout , with the teams now trying to position themselves for the upcoming season. Teams such as the Los Angeles Lakers , New York Knicks and Cleveland Cavaliers have found themselves in situations which were of their own making . Phil Jackson after three seasons of complete incompetence on and off the court , came to an agreement that he and the Knicks’ organization would part ways. Three years and being paid almost $60 million in salary and Jackson was unable to achieve anything of note. Team owner James Dolan whose continued stupidity remains boundless, now seems to be in agreement that the Knicks will also have to part ways with Carmelo Anthony . The player has agreed to waive his no-trade clause , while still being owed $54 million on the two remaining years on his existing contract.
Carmelo Anthony’s wish is to join a legitimate contender among the teams he’s said to consider joining would be the Cleveland Cavaliers where his friend , LeBron James is the team’s leader and face of that particular franchise.
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Slide-show.
Unfortunately, for the Cleveland Cavaliers to consider acquiring Carmelo Anthony , a third team will be needed to make such a deal a reality , while seeking to remain under the league’s salary cap structure. One should also bear in mind the Cavaliers are coming off-season where they lost money , while also having one of the largest payrolls in the NBA , all in their chase for success. The tumultuous fallout from their loss to the Golden State Warriors was embarrassing enough without then having to witness the dismissal of the general manager David Griffin . There clearly was a difference of opinion between owner Dan Gilbert and his lead front office executive , but for LeBron James , this could very well be the last straw in what appears to be uncertainty within the franchise. Suffice to say, for the moment , James will remain with the Cavaliers , waiting to see the next move to be made by Dan Gilbert.
Away from the NBA, the sports world has provided some fascinating stories , with boxer Manny Pacquiao having lost his WBO Welterweight Title to challenger and little known Australian fighter Jeff Horn . In this title fight which had its own controversy , the champion failed to deliver in the challenger’s backyard of Brisbane, Australia . There may well have been questions about the officiating and the judges awarding Horn a unanimous victory, but to my own mind , this was one of Manny Pacquiao’s worst performances of his career . Whether or not there is a rematch, which is a clause in the contract of the dethroned champion, I am not so sure Pacquaio can come back and avenge such a humiliating loss.
Bob Arum , Manny’s longtime promoter and adviser clearly wants his client back in the ring purely from a financial standpoint. I firmly believe it is time for Manny Pacquiao to retire from a boxing ring once and for all. Teddy Atlas , one-time boxing trainer and now a respected analyst , should stop with his continued whining that this verdict was a travesty. There have been far more egregious and outrageous decisions and verdicts rendered in a boxing over the past decade. Somehow , Atlas must believe this has been the first verdict of its kind given in a boxing during his lifetime. Teddy Atlas should get back to the basics and start to question the integrity of the sport.
An even bigger circus extravaganza due to take place in a boxing ring will be UFC fighter Conor McGregor facing unbeaten welterweight Floyd Mayweather . This bout is likely to be the most viewed PPV event in boxing history as well as the highest grossing boxing match in the sport over the last two decades. Mayweather is likely to net over $300 million after expenses and McGregor is likely to earn in excess of $50 million, the biggest payday of his professional career. If you like the attraction of viewing a freak-show then this might be the event for you.
With less than a week to go before MLB’s mid-season extravaganza of the All Star Weekend , there are a number of teams jockeying themselves into position for the second-half of the season. There is a full slate of games on for this weekend , beginning on Friday afternoon. With the divisional standings being as they are, the most interesting series features the New York Yankees taking on the Milwaukee Brewers , with the Brewers seeking to cement their lead within the NL Central . I have to admit , I am presently surprised by the Brewers’ play this season and also by the lack of competitiveness shown by their divisional rivals the Chicago Cubs , who as the reigning World Series’ champions have shown themselves to be extremely fallible . The Cubs will be in action today when they face off against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Wrigley Field in Chicago , Illinois.
If Joe Girardi really wants to prove his worth as the New York Yankees’ manager , then he has to have this team playing with a great deal more zeal. The Yankees find themselves looking up at the Boston Red Sox within the AL East and this is a Red Sox team buoyed by the productivity of the youngsters on their roster as well as by some of their seasoned veterans . The Boston Red Sox will be on the road to face the Tampa Bay Rays , while the New York Yankees will be taking on the Milwaukee Brewers .
Never let it be said that baseball has ever had its financial house in order or that the league hierarchy has a sense of purpose. The Miami Marlins currently are in dire straits, suddenly find themselves in the midst of some real intrigue as potential bidders for the ball-club are falling by the wayside faster than leaves falling from a tree during Fall . The latest consortium to drop out of the bidding and the ludicrous asking price of ‘$1.3 billion ‘ was the once favored group led by billionaire venture capitalist Wayne Rothbaum . The entrepreneur’s patience may well have ran thin with his own partners which included Tagg Romney , son of former GOP Presidential candidate Mitt Romney and also Jeb Bush , the other notable high-profiled partner among the list of investors which made up the syndication group. Marlins’ team owner Jeffrey Loria has come down considerably from his extremely ridiculous original asking price of $2.1 billion for the sale of the team.
Courtesy of the Miami Herald
Marlins sales efforts receive more setbacks
By Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald bjackson@miamiherald.com
The Marlins’ attempts to complete a sale in the next couple of weeks received a significant setback in recent days, with the Wayne Rothbaum/Tagg Romney group dropping out of the bidding and Derek Jeter’s group losing a billionaire investor, according to a report Thursday on the New York Post’s web site.
Meanwhile, Miami businessman Jorge Mas remains interested in buying the team but has not yet made a formal bid and values the team at less than owner Jeffrey Loria’s $1.2 billion asking price, a person close to Mas said by phone this week.
Loria recently rejected a $1.1 billion bid from the Rothbaum group, the Miami Herald reported last week. Loria originally asked for $1.3 billion but is now willing to accept $1.2 billion, according to a source briefed on negotiations.
But Rothbaum ultimately was unwilling to raise his offer, despite the Marlins encouraging him to do so. The Marlins had been under the impression that negotiations would continue.
Two people who have had involvement with the Rothbaum group said Thursday afternoon that they had not been informed that Rothbaum and Romney had dropped their pursuit of the team. The Marlins declined to comment.
Meanwhile, Jeter lost a key member of his investment group, Chicago billionaire Richard Chaifetz, according to The Post report.
Chaifetz was uncomfortable with Jeter seeking control while not investing much money in the team, The Post said.
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Click on link to read this article in full.
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This season the Miami Marlins have not fared that well in spite of the contributions from Giancarlo Stanton , Christian Yelich , Marcell Ozuna and others on the team. Marlins’ manager Don Mattingly will seek to get his players back in stride this weekend when they face the San Francisco Giants in a three-game series beginning today. A series’ win against the Giants would be a tremendous boost to the team’s morale and it would go a long way in taking the minds of the fans off the issues now faced by the organization off the field. Never-ending uncertainty , is not the way for the ball-club to proceed forward and even if Jorge Mas is waiting in the wings with his own bid , I seriously doubt that will be enough to secure and deal with the real underlying issues for this baseball franchise.
While I know there will be heightened anticipation concerning this season’s All Star Game , from my own perspective, the second half of the season will certainly tell me more about the direction the teams are heading in.
UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion Amanda Nunes makes the second defense of her title when she faces the division’s number one challenger Valentina Shevchenko at UFC 213 this Saturday , 8th July , 2017. Nunes and Shevchenko headline the card for the night , but there are several intriguing bouts which make up the under-card for the night. If things go to form then I expect the champion to make a successful defense of her title as well as beating her opponent for the second time in their two meetings.
It is hard to say where Amanda Nunes now goes from here should she make a successful defense of her title. Perhaps enticing the return of Ronda Rousey who she defeated with ease might be an option , but with their being only three weight categories in Women’s MMA under the UFC banner , Nunes’ options are not clearly defined.
At this time of the year there isn’t a great deal happening on the North American sports’ scene. Was anyone really interested in who won the Stanley Cup ? In reality , was there anyone actually watching the series on NBC ? The NFL continues to cast its giant shadow across the sporting landscape , but until the preseason comes into being , the fans simply wait for the latest breaking news and for the drama which tends to unfold.
Picture gallery . Click on frame to read the accompanying narrative.
What if anything has been the biggest sports’ story you have been intrigued by over the past ten days ?
Tophatal …… 2017/07/07 03:06 pm
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MLB news and weekend schedule
MLB results 6th July and MLB divisional standings
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