The year is 2021. I am blogging about the Lakers. The team has failed to defend its title and is trading Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Kyle Kuzma while letting Alex Caruso walk for nothing, and replacing them with Russell Westbrook.
The year is 2024. I am blogging about the NBA. The Denver Nuggets have failed to defend their title, and are letting Kentavious Caldwell-Pope leave for the Orlando Magic, and may add Russell Westbrook to their backcourt in his stead:
Further proving that NBA time may move in patterns rather than a series of unique events, this would also be the second time in two seasons that a team has salary-dumped Reggie Jackson to the Hornets in order to make room to add Russell Westbrook.
Now, obviously the context of these situations is different. The Lakers didn’t send out Caldwell-Pope and Kuzma for Westbrook because of second apron considerations (they are cheap and will likely never cross the second apron, but it didn’t exist yet). They just made a dumb trade.
The Nuggets are cheaping out on KCP not just for financial reasons or because they think Westbrook is as good or better, but also to avoid the myriad of actual roster penalties that would come from extending him at his market value, as my friend Ryan Blackburn summarized well recently at Mile High Sports:
Unfortunately, writing a blank check, while certainly appealing to Caldwell-Pope, is not in the best interest of the Nuggets competitively. The second tax apron, a new stipulation agreed upon in the Collective Bargaining Agreement, isn’t just a financial burden, but a competitive one. The Nuggets will not be able to make competitive trades if they are over the second apron. They will not be able to use the Taxpayer Mid-Level Exception in free agency. Even their first round draft pick in 2032 will be “frozen” if they finish the end of the 2024-25 season over the second apron, meaning they cannot use it in future trades. If they stay above the second apron in three of the next five seasons, that 2032 first round draft pick will be automatically sent to the end of the first round, regardless of Denver’s record.
Still, while the context may be different, it’s still hard not to feel like Dr. Manhattan from Watchmen here while watching the Nuggets echo the Lakers’ previous mistake. Replacing the ultimate 3-and-D wing with the ultimate… well, opposite of those two qualities didn’t work out for the Lakers. Maybe Jokic making Westbrook a champion is the final way he can more thoroughly defeat LeBron James, Anthony Davis and the Lakers… but it’s difficult not to be skeptical that may be beyond even his talents.
So we’ll see if this works out better for Denver than it did the Lakers, but for now, it’s hard not to be tired of Earth. These people. Tired of being caught in the tangle of their lives.
Florida State sophomore Luke Clanton burst onto the scene Saturday at the Rocket Mortgage Classic as he posted the score to beat.
He signed for a 7-under 65 to sit at 14-under and just a few shots behind the leaders.
Clanton recorded six birdies, an eagle and one bogey on the day. He was 5-under through 11 holes before he dropped a shot at the 12th.
“We stayed super calm and super in the process of what we’ve been doing,” Clanton said after his round on Saturday.
“I think that’s one thing I’ve been struggling with the last couple of months is not getting ahead of my game and looking into the future, but today, I think we did such a good job of not trying to force the birdies out there, but we just stayed really in our process today.”
Through three rounds, Clanton leads the field in strokes gained off the tee with +4.378. He is also No. 7 in strokes gained putting, picking up +4.346 on the rest of the field.
However, in Saturday’s round alone, he leads in strokes gained off the tee (+1.491), putting (3.801) and total (+4.712).
His flat stick was phenomenal as the Seminole golfer made 117 feet of putts during the third round. However, his eagle on 14 was a veteran-like shot that showed what kind of guts he has.
“I smoked a driver way down there, and that was probably one of the harder ones I hit all day,” he said. “Had the perfect 5-iron number with left-to-right wind. I looked at Jason and said this could be really good if I hit this good, and I flushed it. I said, “Be the right club,” and he said it. Hit it close and tapped in for eagle, so it was pretty sweet.”
His 7-under 65 put him right into contention to win a PGA Tour event. Can the 20-year-old make history this week? He made the cut at the U.S. Open and finished tied for 41st. Clanton was the second-lowest amateur behind Neal Shipley, who made his professional PGA Tour debut this week.
“To be able to be out here and even say I’m in contention to win a PGA TOUR event’s pretty nuts. It’s pretty cool, man,” he said.
“I shot 7 under today, it was amazing, but we could have made a couple more birdies out there. My game plan has been the same all week, pound driver as hard as I can, get it down there and make a few putts — it’s been good.”
The last amateur to win on the PGA Tour was Nick Dunlap, who won the American Express in January. He became the first amateur since Phil Mickelson in 1991 to win on Tour.
Photo by Orlando Ramirez/Getty Images
Now, Clanton looks to add his name to the history books.
“Me and Nick go way back so it’s awesome to see him do that,” Clanton said. “It’s cool, man. I think amateurs now, we’re so good. I think a lot of guys have great chances of winning out here and to be in contention with one day to go is pretty sweet.”
The Florida State sophomore had one of the best springs with three consecutive victories at the Seminole Intercollegiate, the Valspar Collegiate Invitational and the Lewis Chitengwa Memorial.
Clanton recorded 10 top-10 finishes in 14 tournaments this past season, and he finished at par or less in 30 of his 40 rounds. He is currently ranked No. 6 in the World Amateur Golf ranking system.
If the Ben Hogan semifinalist wins on Sunday, it will be the first time in 79 years that two amateurs have won on the PGA Tour. Cary Middlecoff and Fred Haas were the last to win in the same season in 1945.
Clanton will likely be in one of the final groups on Sunday, as his 65 pushed him 22 spots up the leaderboard.
Savannah Leigh Richardson is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. For more golf coverage, follow us @_PlayingThrough on all major social platforms. You can also follow her on Twitter @SportsGirlSL and Instagram @savannah_leigh_sports.
And it will look a little different than in year’s past.
The 2024 Tour de France, the 111th in history, begins on Saturday June 29. However, the starting point for this year’s Tour de France, as well as the finish line, will mark a series of firsts for the event.
To mark 100 years since Ottavio Bottecchia became the first Italian rider to win the Tour de France, this year’s race will begin in Italy, with riders setting off in Florence. The first three stages of this year’s Tour de France will keep riders in Italy, before the Tour’s fourth stage sees riders make the journey from Pinerolo in Italy, to Valloire in France.
In addition, this year’s Tour de France schedule coincides with the 2024 Paris Summer Games, which begin in Paris at the end of July. As such the Tour de France will conclude in Nice, with the final stage of the 2024 Tour de France bringing riders from Monaco to Nice.
This year’s Tour de France also concludes with an individual time trial, the first time the event has concluded with an ITT since 1989. That year saw the legendary duel on the final day between Greg LeMond and Laurent Fignon.
This year’s event has no shortage of storylines, starting with the battle between Dane Jonas Vingegaard, riding for Visma—Lease a Bike, and Slovenian Tadej Pogačar of UAE Team Emirates.
Vingegaard is the reigning Tour de France champion, winning in both 2022 and 2023 ahead of his rival Pogačar. But his status for this year’s Tour de France is a huge question mark, as Vingegaard endured a horrific crash at the Tour of Basque Country in April. The Danish cyclist suffered a broken collarbone, several broken ribs, a pulmonary contusion and a pneumothorax as a result of the crash, and spent 12 days in the hospital.
Vingegaard’s questionable form has opened the door for Pogačar to perhaps claim another title. The Slovenian took home the prestigious yellow jersey, the maillot jaune, in both 2020 and 2021; his victory in 2020 at the age of 21 made him the second-youngest winner in race history.
The two are the odds-on favorites to compete for the top spot on the podium again in 2024, but Vingegaard’s recent crash has made his rival the favorite.
Beyond the two favorites, there are some other riders in the field who could challenge for the yellow jersey. Primož Roglič from Slovenia, riding for Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe, is one of the older riders in the field but might have some unfinished business after losing out to fellow Slovenian Pogačar in 2020. Roglič failed to finish in both 2021 and 2022, but won the Critérium du Dauphiné at the start of the month, fending off a late challenge from Matteo Jorgenson from Visma—Lease a Bike.
Remco Evenepoel from Soudal Quick-Step is another rider to watch. The Belgian cyclist suffered a crash of his own at Basque Country, but seemed back in form during the Critérium du Dauphiné when he was part of the chasing pack that put Roglič under pressure in the final stage. Considered one of the sport’s premier time trialists, the schedule sets up well for him with the 2024 Tour de France containing a pair of time trials, including the one on the final day previously mentioned.
For American fans Jorgenson represents your best hope for Tour de France glory. However, his role this year might best be described as “undetermined,” given Vingegaard’s questionable form. Should Vingegaard be healthy Jorgenson may serve as an auxiliary leader for Visma, and one of the sport’s premier domestiques. But if Vingegaard struggles with his health as a result of his recent crash, the 24-year-old could be thrust into a major role. And given his recent performance — including finishing just eight seconds behind Roglič at Dauphiné — he is certainly worth keeping an eye on.
For more on the favorites in the 2024 Tour de France field Bernd Buchmasser has you covered here.
Here is how to watch, a look at each stage, and more.
How to watch the 2024 Tour de France
NBC Sports is your home for every stage of the 110th Tour de France, with the bulk of the coverage airing live each day on Peacock. NBC and USA Network will also air live coverage during of three stages of the 2024 Tour de France: Stage 8, Stage 14, and Stage 20.
All NBC and USA Network coverage also streams on NBCSports.com/live, as well as the NBC Sports app.
Here is the full broadcast schedule:
2023 Tour de France Broadcast Information
Date
Time (ET)
Stage
Route
Platform
Date
Time (ET)
Stage
Route
Platform
June 29
6:30 a.m.
1
Florence to Rimini
Peacock
June 30
6:05 a.m.
2
Cesenatico to Bologna
Peacock
July 1
6:50 a.m.
3
Piacenza – Turin
Peacock
July 2
7:00 a.m.
4
Pinerolo to Vallorie
Peacock
July 3
6:55 a.m.
5
Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne to Saint-Vulbas
Peacock
July 4
7:00 a.m.
6
Mâcon to Dijon
Peacock
July 5
7:10 a.m.
7
Nuits-Saint-Georges to Gevrey-Chambertin
Peacock
July 6
6:00 a.m.
8
Semur-en-Auxois to Colombey-les-Deux-Églises
Peacock
July 6
8:00 a.m.
8
Semur-en-Auxois to Colombey-les-Deux-Églises
NBC
July 7
7:05 a.m.
9
Troys to Troys
Peacock
July 9
6:55 a.m.
10
Orléans to Saint-Amand-Montrond
Peacock
July 10
6:55 a.m.
11
Evaux-les-Bains to Le Lioran
Peacock
July 11
6:55 a.m.
12
Aurillac to Villeneuve-sur-Lot
Peacock
July 12
7:30 a.m.
13
Agen – Pau
Peacock
July 13
6:30 a.m.
14
Pau – Pla d’Adet
Peacock
July 13
8:00 a.m.
14
Pau – Pla d’Adet
NBC
July 14
6:55 a.m.
15
Loudenvielle to Plateau de Beille
Peacock
July 16
6:50 a.m.
16
Gruissan to Nîmes
Peacock
July 17
6:05 a.m.
17
Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaus to Superdévoluy
Peacock
July 18
6:55 a.m.
18
Gap to Barcelonnette
Peacock
July 19
7:05 a.m.
19
Embrun to Isola 2000
Peacock
July 20
7:35 a.m.
20
Nice to Col de la Couillole
Peacock
July 20
4:00 p.m.
20
Nice to Col de la Couillole
NBC (replay)
July 21
10:10 a.m.
21
Monaco to Nice
Peacock
What teams are competing in the 2024 Tour de France
22 teams are competing in the 2024 Tour de France: That includes all 18 UCI WorldTeams, and 4 UCI ProTeams.
18 UCI WorldTeams
Alpecin-Deceuninck Arkéa-B&B Hotels Astana Qazaqstan Team Cofidis Decathalon-AG2R La Mondiale EF Education-EasyPost Groupama-FDJ Ineos Grenadiers Intermarché-Wanty Lidl-Trek Movistar Team Red Bull—Bora—Hansgrohe Soudal—Quick-Step Team Bahrain Victorious Team dsm—firmenich PostNL Team Jayco-AlUla Visma—Lease a Bike UAE Team Emirates
UCI ProTeams
Israel—Premier Tech Lotto—Dstny Team TotalEnergies Uno-X Pro Mobility
The 2024 Tour de France map
Here is the official map of the 2024 Tour de France:
You can also view the map on the official Tour de France website.
Stages, dates, and distances for the 2024 Tour de France
Here are the stages for the 2024 Tour de France. According to the official website there are eight stages classified as flat, four stages classified as hilly, seven mountain stages (including four summit finishes: Saint-Lary-Soulan Pla d’Adet in Stage 14, Plateau de Beille in Stage 15, Isola 2000 in Stage 19, and Col de la Couillole in Stage 20). There are also two individual time trials, along with a pair of rest days.
2024 Tour de France Stages
Stage
Date
Distance (Miles)
Route
Stage Type
Stage
Date
Distance (Miles)
Route
Stage Type
1
June 29
128
Florence to Rimini
Hilly
2
June 30
123.8
Cesenatico to Bologna
Hilly
3
July 1
143.4
Piacenza – Turin
Flat
4
July 2
86.7
Pinerolo to Vallorie
Mountain
5
July 3
110.2
Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne to Saint-Vulbas
Flat
6
July 4
101.6
Mâcon to Dijon
Flat
7
July 5
15.7
Nuits-Saint-Georges to Gevrey-Chambertin
ITT
8
July 6
114
Semur-en-Auxois to Colombey-les-Deux-Églises
Flat
9
July 7
124
Troys to Troys
Hilly
July 8
Rest Day
10
July 9
116.4
Orléans to Saint-Amand-Montrond
Flat
11
July 10
131
Evaux-les-Bains to Le Lioran
Mountain
12
July 11
126.5
Aurillac to Villeneuve-sur-Lot
Flat
13
July 12
102.7
Agen – Pau
Flat
14
July 13
94.4
Pau – Pla d’Adet
Mountain
15
July 14
122.8
Loudenvielle to Plateau de Beille
Mountain
July 15
Rest Day
16
July 16
117.2
Gruissan to Nîmes
Flat
17
July 17
110.5
Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaus to Superdévoluy
Mountain
18
July 18
111.5
Gap to Barcelonnette
Hilly
19
July 19
89.9
Embrun to Isola 2000
Mountain
20
July 20
82.5
Nice to Col de la Couillole
Mountain
21
July 21
20.9
Monaco to Nice
ITT
Overall, the 2024 Tour e France route covers 3,498 kilometers (2,174 miles) and contains 52,230 meters (171,358 feet) of total vertical climb.
If riders were hoping to ease into the 2024 Tour de France, they have another thing coming. The opening stage of this year’s Tour not only marks the first time the race has started in Italy, but it might be the toughest opening stage in history, featuring 3,600 meters (11,811 feet) of climbing. The final climb into San Marino, featuring over seven kilometers (4.35 miles) of climb at nearly five degrees.
The two toughest stretches are likely Stages 14 and 15, as well as Stages 19 and 20. Not only are all four stages mountain stages — meaning riders will have to conquer the mountains on back-to-back days — but all four stages contain a summit finish: Saint-Lary-Soulan Pla d’Adet in Stage 14, Plateau de Beille in Stage 15, Isola 2000 in Stage 19, and Col de la Couillole in Stage 20.
Stage 9 is a very intriguing stage. While it is classified as “hilly” Stage 9, which sees riders start and finish in Troyes, it also contains 14 “white road” sectors. White roads on the Tour de France are dusty, gravel roads that have been a feature of this event.
In addition, the 2024 Tour de France concludes with an Individual Time Trial, the second ITT of this year’s race and the first time the Tour de France will finish in such fashion since the legendary LeMond-Fignon duel in 1989.
2024 Tour de France results
Stage 1: Florence to Rimini
Stage Winner: Romain Bardet, Team dsm-firmenich PostNL Overall Leader: Romain Bardet, Team dsm-firmenich PostNL
Romain Bardet, aided in large part by his Team dsm-firmenich PostNL teammate Frank Van den Broek, captured the difficult first stage of the 2024 Tour de France on Saturday. For Bardet, who is competing in his final Tour de France after announcing his upcoming retirement following next year’s Critérium du Dauphiné before a switch to gravel. This stage win was his first in seven years, and he’s the first Frenchman to don the famous yellow jersey since Julian Alaphilippe in the 2021 race.
On Friday at Red Bull Ring Williams driver Logan Sargeant did something he had never done before in his Formula 1 career.
Finish ahead of teammate Alexander Albon in qualifying.
While Albon struggled with the balance of his FW46 during both the first practice session and Friday’s F1 Sprint Qualifying, finding himself eliminated in SQ1, Sargeant put together a strong first segment of qualifying, advancing into SQ2.
While the American driver saw his time deleted in SQ2 for exceeding track limits and will start today’s F1 Sprint Race in P15, he hailed the effort on Friday as a “good step forward” following a difficult Spanish Grand Prix.
“SQ1 was a good build-up, however in SQ2, I didn’t quite get Turn 1 and 3 right, attempting to make it up in the second half of the lap,” described Sargeant in the team’s post-session report. “I managed this, but then clipped the gravel in Turn 6 and that was unfortunately out. I’m still happy with my session and think it’s a good place to be starting tomorrow. The conditions are changing from session to session.
“We are being proactive with set-up and countering the differences and I feel like we did a good job and turned things around from FP1 to Sprint Qualifying, so we’ll just keep trying to do a bit more of the same. It’s been a good step forward from Barcelona.”
Williams Sporting Director Sven Smeets praised the effort from the team’s second-year driver, noting Sargeant is in a “good position” to try and notch a result today.
“Logan did a good job and got into SQ2 with a clean and decent last push lap. In SQ2, we knew he had to give it his all to gain some places on the grid but unfortunately couldn’t get it all lined up and his lap was deleted,” described Smeets. “Nevertheless, he will be in a good position tomorrow to fight and look out for opportunities.”
Sargeant has just one point over his year-plus in F1, which came at last season’s United States Grand Prix when he was promoted to P10 following post-race disqualifications handed down to Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc. But can the young driver follow up a good Friday, with an even better Saturday?
With the calendar set to flip in a few days from June to July, that means that the looming specter of MLB’s trade deadline is getting larger and larger on the horizon. With each passing day, we’re starting to get a better idea of who’s going to be using the deadline to try to boost their shots at making a World Series run and who’s going to be trying to jumpstart a rebuild for the upcoming season or even longer.
One of the teams that is currently looking likely to end up in the seller’s group is the Toronto Blue Jays. This is actually a bit of an upset (in more ways than one) for the Blue Jays, who have made the Postseason in three of the past four seasons but came away without any wins in each of those appearances. Depressing recent playoff history aside, the Blue Jays still figured to be right in the thick of things in terms of the Postseason race. Sure, they probably weren’t going to be competing for a divisional title (as evidenced by their 16 percent odds in spring training of winning the AL East, according to FanGraphs) but this was at least a team that could realistically harbor hopes of returning to October baseball again as they were sitting on a 49 percent chance of making the Postseason this year according to FanGraphs’ Playoff Odds.
As of right now, it’s a longshot for the team up North to get back into the tournament. Toronto is now 37-43, they’re lightyears behind in the division — 13.5 games behind Baltimore for first place and given a 0.0 percent chance of winning it. Their Wild Card hopes are getting slimmer with each day as well, as they’re currently 6.5 games behind the Kansas City Royals for the third and final Wild Card spot and they’ve got three teams directly in front of them vying for Kansas City’s spot. As such, FanGraphs is giving Toronto a 6 percent shot at making the Postseason now. All you can say is that it’s better than zero!
As you could probably surmise by simply looking at their current lot in baseball life, the Blue Jays aren’t doing anything particularly well at the moment. Collectively, their pitching staff has an ERA- of 106 and a FIP- of 108 — both of those numbers being good for having their pitching staff rated in the bottom 10 of baseball. Yusei Kikuchi and Chris Bassitt are giving it their best in the rotation and you could say the same for guys like Yimi García (before his injury) and Trevor Richards in the bullpen as well. Still, it hasn’t been enough to propel the Blue Jays into a winning position and it’s been a far cry from the great work that this pitching staff did last season.
With that being said, the pitching would simply be a thorn in the team’s side if Toronto was putting up numbers at the plate. As it turns out, they’ve also gotten worse as a collective at the plate here in 2024 — heading into action on Friday, the Blue Jays were collectively hitting .234/.312/.372 with a .304 wOBA and a team wRC+ of 98. They’re hitting for far less power as well, as their Isolated Power has gone down from .161 last season to just .138 this season. That’s a bottom-five number in all of MLB and all the other numbers are mediocre at best. So with the Blue Jays taking a drop in production all across the board on both the mound and at the plate, it’s suddenly very easy and understandable to see how they’ve played themselves into a serious pickle here.
So it’s simple, right? A team with slim-to-no chance of making the Postseason should obviously be selling, right? GM Ross Atkins may as well just go ahead put up the ol’ “For Sale” sign and start working the phones with the full intention of starting a rebuild, correct? As it turns out, it’s not that simple. As Kaitlyn McGrath of The Athletic mentioned in her recent article, the franchise is just coming off of an expensive renovation of the Rogers Centre and would not want to put fans through a rebuild so soon into their tenure at the newly renovated ballpark.
Between that and the large amount of money that’s already been invested into this team to begin with, it’s safe to say that this isn’t simply a matter of flipping the switch and saying “Okay, time to start it all over again.” Atkins told McGrath as such in the aforementioned article:
“Every decision that you make, regardless of a stadium renovation or the state of your organization, you have to be thinking of the future, as well,” Atkins said. “But as you’ve seen over the last four years, we’ve poured a lot into the current team, from a financial standpoint, from a trade standpoint, from a resource standpoint and we’ll continue to do that until it doesn’t make sense to do so anymore.”
With all of that in mind, if the Blue Jays are still in a similar position in both the division and Wild Card race by the time the trade deadline starts to become imminent then I think it would be safe to assume that Toronto would start selling. If that happens, then the question shifts towards whether or not they’ll just stick with moving their impending free agents or if they’ll move their stars as well. If they stick with simply getting what they can for guys like Yusei Kikuchi and Yimi García then it’s clear that they’re probably going to try to run it back in 2025 with a retooled roster.
However, there appears to be a possibility that guys like Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette could be on the move. Those rumors received a nice and healthy dose of oxygen when Vladito did an interview with Virus Deportivo and made these comments regarding potentially being traded to a team like the Yankees:
Here’s a translation of those comments from ESPN:
In 2022, Guerrero Jr. said he’d “never sign with the Yankees — not even dead.” In 2023, he told the New York Post that it was “a personal thing that goes back with my family. … I would never change that.”
But never say never.
“Like I tell you, I’m a player and if a team picks me or if they do something, it’s because they need it, obviously, and I’ll be happy to help any team,” Guerrero told Virus Deportivo on Monday. “But right now, I’m just focused on helping my team try to get out of this bad streak.”
If I was a Blue Jays fan, this would have me turning on the alarm bells. While walking back the comments about his beef with the Yankees might just be a sign of growing up and maturing, that’s beside the point. The main point is that it’s never really a great sign for a team potentially keeping a player around when said player is publicly talking about being willing to help any team he’s traded to — even the team that he had “a personal thing” with. Again, it’s not that I have an issue with what Vladimir Guerrero Jr. said — that was about as professional-yet-honest of an answer as you could get to that question. It’s the fact that it was even entertained that says a lot about what’s going on with the Blue Jays at the moment.
With all of this being said, there’s still no signs that a Blue Jays/Yankees trade is on the horizon. All of this trade talk at the moment is smoke with real tangible signs of a fire nearby. With that being said, with each week that goes by without the Blue Jays getting going, it seems like some hard choices might have to be made North of the border. Whether it’s via a retool or a complete rebuild, it’s clear that the Blue Jays can’t keep going like they are and expect the World Series trophy to return to Canada.
Alex Pereira and Jiri Prochazka are set to run things back.
This Saturday, Pereira and Prochazka rematch their UFC 295 light heavyweight title fight in the main event of UFC 303. The first time these two met, Pereira knocked Prochazka out in the second round to become the UFC’s ninth two-division champion. This time, the two meet on short-notice as they step in to save the day following Conor McGregor’s withdrawal from the event due to injury.
How will each man approach this fight, and how do they take home the win? Let’s take a look.
Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
Paths to Victory for Alex Pereira at UFC 303
When these two first fought, I picked Pereira to win with relative ease because Prochazka’s offense, while potent, is not backed up by elite defense, meaning Pereira would have ample opportunity to counter. That’s less than ideal for Prochakza given that Pereira is one of the hardest punchers in the sport. And I was half right. Yes, Prochakza did walk headlong on to Pereira’s offense repeatedly, but what actually did him in was the low kicks.
Pereira is perhaps the best calf-kicker in MMA. He’s so adept at kicking the legs without any setup, making it extremely hard to read. And that’s especially bad for Prochakza who operates from a long stance with a lot of weight on the front foot. Aleksandar Rakic chopped the lead leg out from Prochakza, and was dominating the fight, until Prochazka went wild man on him and simply overran him with offense. That’s a much more difficult proposition against someone with the firepower and technique of Pereira.
What this means is that for Pereira, the path forward is simple: make this fight like the first one. Chop the front leg, defend takedowns, and clip Prochazka when he starts to get wild. On top of that, Pereira also should look to double jab, setting up the straight right hand. Because Prochakza fights with his hands down, his first instinct on defense is to slip and then slide back. The double jab with a follow up puts Prochakza in the tough spot of being at the end of his defense when the power shot comes in. Double jabs and calf kicks, that’s the name of the game on Saturday for Pereira.
Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images
Paths to victory for Jiri Prochazka at UFC 303
Despite the fact that he got stopped in the first matchup, Prochakza enters Saturday saying he’s not going to change the gameplan. That seems like a bad idea. After all, the definition of crazy is doing the same thing and expecting different results.
In the first fight, Prochakza approached it in the same way he approaches most people, a little bit of everything. He shows Pereira a ton of different looks on the feet, scored one takedown, and even stunned Pereira in the second round with a barrage of long punches that “Poatan” didn’t see coming. It’s a smart way to fight most people: but Pereira is not most people.
Keeping opponents on their toes is usually a good strategy. The more they have to consider, the harder things get for them. Except in this circumstance, when Prochakza spent the second round consenting to a striking battle with Pereira, that was just playing to his opponent’s strength. Sure, you can win that way. But it’s wiser not to.
The simplest way to beat Pereira is to take him down. That almost entirely negates his offense, meaning Prochakza has the best chance to win the fight. And while Pereira is better than many believe at wrestling and grappling, Prochakza proved he can do it. His first plan of attack should always be getting this to the floor and once it’s there, it should be about control. Prochakza’s wild tendencies extend to the ground as well and that’s how Pereira stood up in the first fight. The focus should be getting Pereira down and then keeping him there. Let offense come afterwards.
Of course that doesn’t mean be afraid of Pereira’s striking. No fighter can win a fight if they just punt on one phase of the game entirely. Prochakza had a good amount of success on the feet using a ton of feints to keep Pereira off balance. Using plenty of that, plus more body work should be the focus in striking. Prochakza has a sneaky front kick to the body that would serve him well, and the body work should open up other opportunities both up top and into clinches, where Prochakza than then look to take things to the floor.
X-Factors
According to Prochakza, the biggest x-factor is Pereira’s use of “spiritual forces” to gain an unsporting advantage in the fight. But any good samurai should be able to negate the mystical powers deployed against him, so I’m calling that a wash. No, the x-factor in this fight is the short-notice.
Per most reports, Pereira was not originally keen on stepping in to save this event on just a few weeks’ notice, and was in fact in Australia at the time. Add in that he’s recovering/still dealing with some broken toes (coincidentally the same issue that led Conor McGregor to withdraw from the event) and it’s fair to wonder what version of Pereira will step into the cage on Saturday. No fighter competes at 100 percent, but is Poatan even at 75? We’ll see.
On the other side of things, Prochakza is also stepping in on short notice but rumor has it he was training like normal. If so, that’s definitely an advantage heading into this fight.
Could all of this be nothing? Of course! It’s rumor, speculation, and conjecture. But if Pereira shows up and can’t move as well or runs out of gas in the later rounds, everyone will look back and think we should have seen this coming.
Prediction
Because of the short notice, I do believe this fight is closer than last time, but I’ll guess the same result happens. Prochakza has some tools to make things difficult, but his insistence that he’s not changing the plan and his odd obsession with Pereira’s “spiritual powers” makes me think “BJP” didn’t learn any real lessons from the first encounter. In that case, Prochakza is basically hoping to high-roll a knockout blow against Pereira, which could always happen, but the more likely outcome is another fight where Jiri runs headlong onto Pereira’s best weapons.
Alex Pereira def. Jiri Prochazka via knockout (punches) — 4:34, Round 3.
Friday was not the easiest of days for Daniel Ricciardo as the 2024 Formula 1 Austrian Grand Prix got underway.
But despite the early struggles, one of F1’s main attractions is staying upbeat.
Ricciardo posted the 16th-fastest time in the single practice of the week, and could not improve on that position in Friday’s F1 Sprint Qualifying session. The Visa Cash App RB F1 Team driver finished 16th, leading to his elimination in SQ1.
Perhaps adding to the frustration? The fact that Ricciardo missed out on a spot in SQ2 by less than three-hundredths of a second, to teammate Yuki Tsunoda.
But in his post-session comments, Ricciardo remained positive.
“It’s a short lap here, so it’s always going to be tricky. We changed quite a lot from FP1, and we’re still trying to learn about the package, but obviously, it’s frustrating when you miss out by a small bit,” said the driver in VCARB’s post-session media report. “The second lap of the Sprint-Quali was definitely better than the first one, but we still need to finetune some things. I do think we made the right changes, but maybe we need to balance it better. We’ll try to use the Sprint to understand the car always more, so I’m staying optimistic.”
Ricciardo’s optimism comes as there is increased speculation about his position with the team, not just for the 2025 season but perhaps the rest of this season. Red Bull Senior Advisor Dr. Helmut Marko kicked that speculation off ahead of the Austrian Grand Prix earlier this week, noting that there is perhaps some pressure from shareholders to give a younger driver — Liam Lawson — a seat at VCARB.
That speculation kicked into overdrive when noted F1 journalist Joe Saward surmised on social media that Lawson could be in that seat as early as this summer.
With the usual caveats that every rumor regarding driver movement in F1 needs to be given context and taken with a healthy grain of salt or two, Ricciardo admitted during Thursday’s media day that he needs to improve his performance.
“I said I really do enjoy being back in the [Red Bull] family,” said Ricciardo to the assembled media on Thursday. “I weirdly do enjoy sometimes a little bit of the pokes from Helmut because I think it also could be a way to get me a little bit fired up and try to get the best out of me.”
Still, Ricciardo was clear about what he needs to do to secure his future.
“It’s the on-track stuff so I’ve obviously got a good opportunity, I say until the summer break,” continued Ricciardo. “I don’t think that’s a deadline but obviously that’s what you look at for the first half of the season. So I try to do what I can and obviously help my cause.”
Friday also saw the second FIA Press Conference ahead of the Austrian Grand Prix, with VCARB CEO Peter Bayer addressing Ricciardo’s performance to date, as well as the rumors regarding Lawson.
“Well, [Ricciardo] certainly has helped us tremendously. Looking back last year when he joined the team, he brought a whole new energy and spirit into the team. And he has been extremely helpful in supporting Yuki. Yuki has just stated that very recently, actually, that he still keeps learning from Daniel,” began Bayer. “And it’s part of our job, also as a mission from the shareholders, to develop drivers. And that’s what we currently do. But certainly, as Christian said, this is about performance.
“We do luckily have a couple of options with the junior [program], but we’re also not in a hurry to take a decision for next year’s line-up. We’ve confirmed Yuki, which was very important for us. And the focus currently, honestly, as you can tell, is on the car and to go into the summer break and have a quiet discussion.”
Bayer — as well as Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner — was pressed on the driver lineup by the brilliant Luke Smith of The Athletic. For Horner, he outlined how any decisions will be first addressed in-house, but did offer that like everything in F1, the lineup at VCARB is “fluid.”
“I think anything regarding drivers is going to be dealt with in-house before we talk to the media about it. They’re all, as I say, Red Bull racing drivers and every Red Bull driver knows that there’s always a pressure, that there’s always a scrutiny,” described Horner. “But, you know, Daniel is in the seat and it’s down to him to make the most of that. And then, it’s always, as we see in Formula 1, things are always fluid.”
As for Bayer, he echoed Horner’s thoughts.
“Perhaps just to add on what Christian perfectly summarised, Liam is part of the team, he’s our test driver, he’s in the simulator,” added Bayer. “As most of you know, he’ll be in the [Testing of Previous Car session]. We do our job to develop young drivers, but the decision on the second seat will be taken quietly and we’re not in a hurry.”
VCARB and Red Bull might not be in a hurry to solidify their lineup for 2025 — and make a decision on Ricciardo’s future — but the driver remains under mounting pressure to improve his form.
A jury in federal court in California decided on Thursday that the NFL and its member teams violated federal antitrust laws with the “Sunday Ticket” package. Following Thursday’s historic jury verdict against the NFL and its member teams — that could have the league on the hook for over $14 billion in damages to plaintiffs, including individual fans and commercial establishments who bought “Sunday Ticket” — many are wondering when individual team packages could hit the airwaves, as well as when they might see a check.
To quote the great Lee Corso, “not so fast my friend.”
Keeping this in football terms, the verdict is akin to the league getting sacked for a huge loss. You might even say they are facing third and long.
But they might not be punting anytime soon, and we are in the first quarter of a game that likely comes down to the final play.
And maybe even overtime.
So let’s take a moment to talk about what could happen next, and where this might all ultimately end up. But before we dive in it is important to note that while I was not the world’s greatest attorney — the fact that I’m now a sports writer and no longer practicing law speaks to that point — I did spend a decade practicing civil litigation. While I never practiced in the Ninth Circuit, I do have some appellate experience on my resume, which is lying around here somewhere …
What happens next?
NFL fans are about to get a crash course in complex civil litigation, and the associated calendar and scheduling issues associated with such matters.
At the outset, it seems worth mentioning that this case was originally filed in 2015. That’s right, it took almost a decade to get to this point.
And we might still be in the first quarter.
The next step following this verdict comes at the end of July. That is when Judge Philip Gutierrez, who was the trial judge in this matter, will hear post-trial motions. That hearing is set for July 31.
The NFL will likely file motions along various lines, including a motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict (JNOV). Simply put, this is a motion arguing that no reasonable jury could have found what the jury in this case did, given all the facts that were elicited at trial.
In football terms, this is probably on par with a Hail Mary, but it is important to note that at certain points in this trial Judge Gutierrez expressed some skepticism — if not downright frustration — with the case set forth by the plaintiffs. At one point Judge Gutierrez went as far as telling plaintiffs’ counsel “[y]ou really have nothing” regarding their case, and at another point chastised plaintiffs’ counsel for overcomplicating the trial. “The way you have tried this case is far from simple,” Gutierrez told attorneys representing the subscribers. “This case has turned into 25 hours of depositions and gobbledygook. … This case has gone in a direction it shouldn’t have gone.”
Still, that does not mean that Judge Gutierrez will be inclined to completely set aside the verdict, and there are other pathways the league can explore at the post-trial hearing. They can file a motion seeking remittitur, arguing that the damages award in this case rendered by the jury is excessive.
Finally, as set forth by Michael McCann in his analysis of where the case stands, the NFL could seek to have Judge Gutierrez table any potential changes to the “Sunday Ticket” structure until the case reaches its full resolution.
Regardless of what Judge Gutierrez decides to do — whether on July 31 or sometime after if he takes matters under advisement to render decisions on a later date — the league is likely going to appeal this matter to the Ninth Circuit. In a statement following the verdict, the league indicated that they would “ … certainly contest this decision as we believe that the class action claims in this case are baseless and without merit.”
Again, they are not punting anytime soon.
Should they appeal this matter to the Ninth Circuit, we are then talking about months, if not longer, for the Ninth Circuit to weigh in on the case. As noted by McCann in his above analysis, “ … Ninth Circuit appeals often take in the ballpark of a year-and-half to nearly three years.” And the league would simply wait on making any changes to their “Sunday Ticket” structure until, as they would likely argue, the case “reaches a full-and-final resolution.”
But we might not get that from the Ninth Circuit.
Yes, this could go to the Supreme Court.
Could this really go to the Supreme Court?
An often-used joke in everyday life, when someone endures the slightest of grievances, is the line “I’m taking this to the Supreme Court.”
That might actually happen here.
The reason? As my own Constitutional Law professor Michael Gerhardt drilled into my brain the first semester of law school, the Supreme Court is the final arbiter of questions of federal law. And while the case against the league is fascinating concerning what it could mean for the NFL and its fans, there is actually a fairly interesting — if dry — federal question at issue here.
That is the current applicability of the Sports Broadcasting Act, found in 15 US Code Sections 1291-1295.
Passed in 1961 and signed into law by President John F. Kennedy, the SBA adjusted federal antitrust law to allow sports leagues to pool broadcasting rights of all their teams and sign exclusive league-wide deals with networks.
In the case at hand, Plaintiffs argued that the SBA does not apply to the “Sunday Ticket” package because the SBA applies to “over-the-air” broadcasts, and not cable or satellite packages. In contrast, the league asserted that the SBA barred the Plaintiffs’ claims, arguing that the language of the SBA enables the league to set up a service such as “Sunday Ticket.”
Judge Gutierrez previously brushed this claim by the league aside. In his earlier decision denying the NFL’s Motion for Summary Judgement, Judge Gutierrez cited earlier decisions by the Ninth Circuit in doing so:
“And the Ninth Circuit expressly distinguished between “the NFL’s collective sale of telecast rights to free, over-the-air television networks [which] was squarely covered by the SBA” with “league contracts with cable or satellite television services, for which subscribers are charged a fee,” which the SBA does not exempt from antitrust liability.”
This is the kind of federal law question that the Supreme Court might want to weigh in on, given the direction sports broadcasting is moving right now, toward more cable and satellite television services.
Which would mean an even longer delay to a final resolution.
What happens in the interim?
What happens in the interim, you might ask?
We wait.
Because the wheels of civil litigation grind slowly, there is likely a post-trial process that will play out over months if not years.
So if you are a previous subscriber to “Sunday Ticket” on DirecTV, you might not want to be running to the mailbox every day waiting for a check.
The 2024 NFL season is nearly upon us, and it’s shaping up to be an exciting one. While we’re all looking ahead to how our teams will look and hopefully improve this year, it’s important to remember one of the constants of the NFL: While some teams will get better, others will regress. Not everyone will be taking the anticipated step forward, and some will be taking a step back.
On that note, it’s a good opportunity to check in on some of the most volatile coaching situations in the NFL. I delved through the 32 head coaches to come up with my top-five hottest seats in the league heading into 2024. Many of these names won’t be terribly surprising, as several were considered candidates to be let go this offseason, but a couple were a little more challenging than others.
Mike McCarthy
I think I speak for most NFL fans when I say that we were shocked when Mike McCarthy wasn’t fired after the Dallas Cowboys’ most recent playoff defeat. He’s back for 2024, coming off the loss of another key coordinator in Dan Quinn and a thoroughly disappointing offseason marred by a failure to take action on quarterback Dak Prescott’s contract. To put it simply, the Cowboys have been suspiciously lax in addressing veteran departures and the multiple holes on the roster.
While I think the draft class has the potential to be good, it’s a tough assignment for any rookie offensive lineman to come in and play right away. Tyler Guyton and Cooper Beebe could be thrust into the spotlight immediately to plug holes, and I’m not sure that will produce great results — at least, not right away. The receiving corps is incredibly thin after CeeDee Lamb, and the lack of urgency to address running back led to an uninspiring reunion with late-career Ezekiel Elliott.
I’m not sure any of these things are explicitly McCarthy’s fault, but we all know who will get the blame if Dallas regresses in 2024.
Matt Eberflus
Matt Eberflus is in a strange situation with the Chicago Bears. In many ways, it would’ve made sense for the Bears to make a clean break and start fresh with a new head coach in 2024. The team is very much in the midst of what feels like a perpetually ongoing rebuild, and Eberflus’ abysmal 10-24 record through two seasons doesn’t exactly inspire confidence. At the same time, the roster has been far from competitive and Eberflus can argue that he didn’t get any say in the previous quarterback decision. Sure, fair enough.
All that being said, expectations will be through the roof for Chicago in 2024 thanks to an aggressive offseason headlined by the addition of No. 1 overall pick Caleb Williams at quarterback. If things don’t take off quite as fast as hoped and the Bears are once again picking near the top of the NFL Draft, the pitchforks will come out — and Eberflus will be the one on the pointy end.
Dennis Allen
Have you noticed a theme so far? The first three coaches on this list, Dennis Allen included, are all guys who were in danger of being fired at the end of the 2023 season. Allen has been a largely uninspiring coach for the New Orleans Saints, clawing his way to an under-.500 record over two seasons despite possessing one of the oldest and most expensive rosters in the NFL and playing in a division that has been pretty much wide open for the taking.
The expensive acquisition of Derek Carr was supposed to be the necessary move to get the Saints back on top in the NFC South, but the team ultimately fell short once again. Allen likely has a Week 18 Falcons collapse to thank for keeping his job heading into 2024, but things are looking considerably more dire for the Saints this season. The roster has continued to age and thin out thanks to years of cap shenanigans. New Orleans has an even tougher path to the playoffs this season, and three straight misses would almost certainly mean the end for Allen.
Robert Saleh
It seems like the signing of Aaron Rodgers, and his subsequent injury, probably saved Robert Saleh’s job in 2023. Perhaps Rodgers really would have lifted the New York Jets to playoff contention and renewed faith in Saleh’s leadership, but his injury essentially gave Saleh a free pass. While it’s clear Saleh is a great defensive mind and he’s put together a top unit in New York over the past two seasons, the offense has continuously held the team back.
Saleh is an abysmal 18-33 over his three seasons, and you’d expect pretty much any other coach to be shown the door in that situation. That means that 2024 is probably “playoffs or bust” time for both Saleh and the entire regime in New York. The Jets will obviously be better with a healthy Aaron Rodgers, but can they really compete with the top contenders in the AFC? Are they a better team than the Chiefs, Ravens, Bills, or Texans? Can Aaron Rodgers actually stay healthy? Will he retire mid-season to do ayahuasca and go on darkness retreats? A playoff berth alone may not be enough to save Saleh’s job given the expectations around the team.
Brian Daboll
It’s pretty unusual to see a coach coming off an AP Coach of Year award just two seasons prior entering the season on the hot seat, but the New York Giants are an unusual team. Brian Daboll worked magic in New York to get the team to a 9-7-1 record, playoff berth, and upset victory over the Vikings in 2022, but things completely fell apart in 2023. The Giants were among the league’s worst offenses and were near the bottom defensively as well, with Daniel Jones performing poorly coming off his extension before spending the majority of the season on IR.
New York is in a difficult spot heading into 2024, as the team chose to pass on a quarterback upgrade for another huge need, a wide receiver upgrade. That might have been the best choice for the team, but it probably wasn’t the best choice for Daboll’s job security. I still believe Daboll is a good coach and wouldn’t be shocked if he bounces back this season, but he’ll have to pull out some more of that 2022 magic to overtake the Eagles or Cowboys in the playoff race.
During Day 2 of the 2024 NBA Draft, ESPN analyst and former Golden State Warriors executive Bob Myers dropped a bombshell of a rumor surrounding guard Bronny James, via his agent Rich Paul.
“Rich Paul is calling teams, don’t take Bronny James … if you take him, he’s going to Australia.”
James, a guard from USC, is currently projected to be selected at the 55th pick, when the Lakers are on the clock. According to Myers, Paul is telling teams picking before the Lakers not to take James, pulling the strings in order to get James playing with his father LeBron in the NBA.
If Bronny is in fact selected by the Lakers, he and his father would be the first father-son duo to play in the NBA at the same time. While this is a big announcement regarding the rest of the NBA Draft, this isn’t unusual. There have been reports and rumors in previous years of players forcing their way onto teams via their agents telling teams not to draft them. Perhaps the most famous example also involves the Lakers, with Austin Reaves telling the Detroit Pistons not to draft him so he could choose the opportunity in Los Angeles on a two-way contract.
Especially in the modern second round, players can force their way onto teams who need roster spots filled, and Bronny is simply going to be the next player who does that.
As polarizing as Bronny is, this more than likely will only fuel the flames of detractors around his draft stock. The media circus surrounding him will only increase as the rumors swirl with more intensity, taking away from what could turn into a pretty solid NBA career. This rumor, while valid reporting, probably won’t smother those flames anytime soon.
Many NBA Draft pundits have James’ stock coming around the late areas of the second round, but the question now is if teams will call Rich Paul’s bluff and pick James. I doubt it, because Paul is the head agent of Klutch Sports, arguably the most powerful agency in the NBA. If they upset Paul, they risk upsetting other major NBA players affiliated with Klutch Sports.
It’ll be interesting to see who picks James, and if he gets picked at all. Will James end up actually playing in Australia? It seems unlikely, but is apparently now on the table.
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