Tradition's Finest Episode 80 - "The 19[Eighty] Episode"

Welcome Back to the Tradition's Finest Podcast! Episode 80 - “The 19[Eighty] Episode” includes a discussion of the following sports-related topics: - Miscellaneous - George Foreman, a two-time World Heavyweight Boxing Champion & Olympic gold medalist, passed away on Friday at the age of 76. . .Foreman was also an entrepreneur that is responsible for the indoor grills that bore his name, as well as the "George Foreman Lean Mean Grilling Machine" commercials that advertised this particular product. . ."Undefeated No More:" The Missouri Tigers softball team snapped Oklahoma's 31-game win streak on Sunday after defeating the Sooners 3-1. . . - MLB- Pittsburgh Pirates star pitcher Paul Skenes 1/1 Rookie card sold for $1.1 million at a live auction event early Friday morning, and ironically, the card sold for more than Skenes' entire salary for the upcoming MLB season (i.e., $875,000). . .Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Mookie Betts is still dealing with a mystery stomach illness & the timetable for his return is uncertain. . .Betts reported that he has been unable to retain solid food without vomiting over the past couple weeks & has lost approximately 15 lbs. . .Furthermore, according to the Dodgers, Betts is a "long shot" for the team's Opening Day game on Thursday against the Detroit Tigers. . . - NBA - Following their NBA Championship last season, news broke that the Grousbeck family would potentially be interested in selling the Boston Celtics franchise. . .On Thursday, it was announced per Shams Charania of ESPN that a group of investors led by Bill Chisholm had agreed to purchase the Boston Celtics for $6.1 billion dollars, which is the largest sale for an American sports franchise in North American history. . .Former NBA stars Michael Beasley & Lance Stephenson announced via their Instagram accounts last week - that they will face off in a 1v1 game on June 6^th for $100k. . .Q: Who do you think will win in the one-on-one matchup between Michael Beasley & Lance Stephenson?. . - NFL - After signing QB Jameis Winston last week to a two-year, $8 million deal, the New York Giants & veteran QB Russell Wilson reached an agreement on a one-year deal worth an estimated $21 million dollars, including $10.5 million guaranteed on Tuesday evening. . .WR Stefon Diggs reached an agreement with the New England Patriots on Tuesday evening for a three-year deal worth $69 million, including $23 million guaranteed. . .Q: What are your thoughts on these particular deals (i.e., Wilson to NY/ Stefon to NE)?. . . - NCAA: News & Storylines - LSU RB John Emery Jr. recently announced his intention to return for a 7^th season of college football - if granted eligibility by the NCAA. . .Emery suffered ACL injuries in back-to-back seasons. . .Tigers HC Brian Kelly was surprised by the news, and responded accordingly at a press conference last week, stating that they would assist Emery in the process of transferring to a different school within the Power 4 Conferences. . .LSU fans did not react favorably to Kelly's comments at the press conference, and made notable posts via social media regarding Kelly's behavior and the way in which the situation was handled. . .Q: Do you believe that LSU HC Brian Kelly handled this situation with RB John Emery Jr. properly? Do you think that the LSU Tigers fan base has a "love-hate relationship" with HC Brian Kelly as it pertains to his actions off the field? - Per On3 Sports on Tuesday afternoon, John Emery Jr. announced that he plans to enter the NCAA transfer portal. . .Given the recent rash of driving-related issues involved University of Georgia football players, including arrest and a fatal accident, many are suggesting that Georgia HC Kirby Smart should consider banning players from driving, or at least implementing stricter measures to address what we believe is a "cultural" problem. . .Since January 2023, there have been numerous driving-related incidents involving Georgia football players - including arrests for reckless driving, speeding & DUI - as well as a fatal accident that led to a loss of life of a player & a former recruiting staffer. . .Most recently, two more Georgia football players - "Nitro" Tuggle & Marques Early - were arrested on vehicular charges & suspended indefinitely. . .Q: What are your thoughts on this issue at the University of Georgia - Is it a "cultural" issue? Realistically, are there any stricter measures that can be put into place to lower the risk of these type of player-related incidents in Athens?. . . It was announced on Tuesday evening that Stanford University had fired its head football coach Troy Taylor - and that, furthermore, the decision to do so, was made by General Manager Andrew Luck, who became the first GM in college football history to fire a program's HC. . .Q: What do you think about GM Andrew Luck's decision to fire Stanford HC Troy Taylor? Will the GM role become a central figure & fixture across the college football landscape?. . . - NCAA Men's College Basketball - Per ESPN's Pete Thamel, the University of Iowa has agreed to a deal to make Drake coach Ben McCollum the school's next Men's basketball coach, which was announced later on Monday evening by the school. . .McCollum won four D-II national titles at Northwest Missouri State prior to leading the Drake Bulldogs to a 30-plus win season & a trip to the NCAA Tournament in his lone season with the program. . ."A Great Pickup for the Hawkeyes:" In addition to the hiring of McCollum, former star guard at Drake, Bennett Stirtz, announced later on Monday evening his intent to enter the NCAA transfer portal, as well as his decision to follow HC Ben McCollum to Iowa - Stirtz averaged 19.2 PPG & 5.7 APG on 49.8% shooting this season at Drake. . .Xavier's Sean Miller has reached an agreement to become the next head coach of the Texas Longhorns Men's basketball team, sources confirmed to ESPN on Monday afternoon - Miller, a veteran HC, who has spent time at Arizona & Xavier, has led teams to a total of 13 NCAA Tournament appearances in his career, including in two of the past three seasons at Xavier. . .Miller has won 487 games and brings a winning percentage of more than 71%, and will replace Rodney Terry, who was informed last Sunday that he would not return to the lead the Longhorns next season. . .Q: What are your thoughts on the hire of Sean Miller as the new HC for the Texas Longhorns' basketball team?. . .The University of South Florida announced on Wednesday that they have hired Arkansas State HC Bryan Hodgson to a six-year deal to become the Bulls' new head basketball coach. . .Hodgson, a former Nate Oats assistant at Buffalo & Alabama, helped lead the Arkansas State Red Wolves to a 45-28 overall record in the past two seasons - as well as tying for first place in the Sun Belt Conference this season. . .The NCAA & the Raleigh Police Department have launched an formal investigation into UCONN's athletic department, per multiple sources, following Huskies' HC Dan Hurley's explicit rant - following the team's loss to Florida in the Round of 32 last Sunday - as the team were headed back to the locker room that was caught on video by a member of the media - UCONN's Director of Men's Basketball Communications Bobby Mullen then demanded the deletion of this video, and would go on to threaten the reporter, stating that he would "ruin his life," which in North Carolina, is illegal. . .Q: What are your thoughts on UCONN HC Dan Hurley's explicative-filled rant following the team's loss? Should UCONN's athletic department receive some type of punishment by the NCAA (i.e., postseason ban, loss of scholarship spots, etc.)?. . .Per On3 Sports, Saint Francis (PA) will move from a Division I to a Division III program - the Red Flash advanced to the 2025 NCAA Tournament, however, they lost on a last-second bucket in the First Four game versus the Alabama State Hornets last Wednesday evening. . .Q: Do you think the loss in the First Four game versus Alabama St. had any influence on the program's decision to move from a D-1 to a D-III school?. . .Following the Cowboys' loss to the Purdue Boilermakers in the Round of 32, HC Will Wade officially signed his contract to become the new HC at NC State University - and according to multiple reports, viral team manager Amir "Aura" Khan is expected to follow Wade to Raleigh, NC. .- NCAA Tournament Review - After No.9 seed Creighton defeated the 8-seed Louisville Cardinals in the first round (and game) of the 2025 NCAA Tournament last Thursday morning - only 36.17% of brackets on the ESPN Tournament Challenge mobile application remained perfect. . .but we have to "shout-out" that ONE person with the bracket title of "#ROADTOPERFECTION," who started the Tournament 42-0 with their predictions after the East region No.1 seed Duke Blue Devils advanced to the Sweet 16 after defeating Baylor in the Round of 32. . .However, the last remaining perfect bracket was busted after the 3-seed Kentucky Wildcats defeated the 6-seed Illinois Fighting Illini on Sunday afternoon. . .And Then There Were 32. . .has been dwindled down to the Sweet 16 remaining teams in the Tourney - Who will compete for a shot at a National Championship?. . .but first, how did we get down to the final sixteen teams remaining? . . No.4 Purdue defeated No.12 McNeese State 76-62 No.10 Arkansas stunned No.2 St. John's 75-66 No.5 Michigan defeated No.4 Texas A&M 91-79 No.3 Texas Tech defeated No.11 Drake 77-64 No.1 Auburn defeated No. 9 Creighton 82-70 No.6 BYU pulled off the upset over No.3 Wisconsin 91-89 No.1 Houston defeated No.8 Gonzaga 81-76 No.2 Tennessee are movin' on after the win over No.7 UCLA 67-58 No.1 Florida defeated an upset-minded No.8 UCONN 77-75 No.1 Duke dominated No.9 Baylor 89-66 No.3 Kentucky held on to defeat No.6 Illinois 84-75 No.2 Alabama pulled out the win over No.7 Saint Mary's 80-66 No.4 Maryland is movin' on after Derik Queen buzzer-beater over No.12 Colorado State 72-71 (*this is the first NCAA Tournament since 2007 with no teams seeded 11^th or lower in the Sweet 16) No.6 Ole Miss upsets No.3 Iowa State 91-78 No.2 Michigan State defeated Richard Pitino & No.10 New Mexico 71-63 No.4 Arizona completed the comeback to stun No.5 Oregon 87-83 Sweet Sixteen Team Breakdown by Conference: SEC Conference: 7 teams (Tennessee, Florida, Alabama, Auburn, Ole Miss, Kentucky & Arkansas) - *most by any Conference ever. . . Big Ten Conference: 4 teams (Purdue, Maryland, Michigan & Michigan State) Big XII Conference: 4 teams (Arizona, BYU, Texas Tech & Houston) ACC Conference: 1 team (Duke) - *for the first time since 1975, the ACC did not have multiple teams advance to the 2nd round of the NCAA Tournament. . . - NCAA Tournament Preview & Prediction Showcase, PT 2: JD & Spencer provide in-depth, detailed analysis for each matchup in the third & fourth rounds of the 2025 NCAA Tournament (i.e., Sweet Sixteen & Elite Eight). . .By the end of this week's prediction showcase, we each reveal our Final Four team picks. . .**Be Sure to Share Your Picks with Us via Twitter/X - @TraditionFinest -OR- by Email at [email protected]! Thanks for Listening!