Tradition's Finest Episode 90 - "The Big Drizzle Episode"

Welcome Back to the Tradition's Finest Podcast! Episode 90 - "The Big Drizzle Episode" includes a discussion of the following sports-related topics: - Miscellaneous - NHL: For only the 12^th time in NHL history - and the second time in forty years - the same two teams will face-off again in the 2025 NHL Stanley Cup Final: Florida Panthers vs. Edmonton Oilers - - In last year's Finals matchup, the Panthers jumped out to a commanding 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series before Edmonton came storming back to eventually tie the series, prior to a heartbreaking loss in Game 7 - - In contrast to the 2008 & 2009 seasons, where the Detroit Red Wings defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins in the '08 final - and the Penguins avenged their loss by defeating the Red Wings in the '09 Finals - - The Oilers are hoping for a very similar outcome & are attempting to win the franchise's first Stanley Cup since 1990 - - and to become the first Canadian franchise to hoist the trophy since Montreal Canadians in 1993 - while reigning champion Florida Panthers, are trying to become the third team this century to repeat as Stanley Cup Champions (i.e., Pittsburgh Penguins in 2016 & 2017 and Tampa Bay Lightning in 2020 & 2021) - - JD & Spencer discuss a few of the major storylines in preparation of the 2025 NHL Stanley Cup Final between the Panther & Oilers, and such topics as: Oilers forward(s) Connor McDavid & Leon Draisaitl's chance to cement their legacy, the contrast in goaltending consistency, the presence and impact of Panthers forward Brad Marchand & depth scoring - - Q: Will history repeat itself after the heartbreaking loss to the Panthers in 2024, and will the Edmonton Oilers become the first Canada-based team to win the Stanley Cup Final since 1993? Or will the Florida Panthers repeat as Champions, thus possibly establishing an NHL dynasty in the "Sunshine State?". . .Boxing: World Boxing, who has been granted provisional recognition by the IOC Committee, and will therefore, be the governing body over the boxing competitions for the 2028 Olympic Games, announced last Friday that they will introduce mandatory sex testing for all boxers in its competitions - - and furthermore clarified that Paris Olympics Women's Welterweight Champion, Imane Khelif, will not be allowed to compete until she has undergone one of these tests - - In a mission to deliver a competitive-level playing field for men & women across the sport, World Boxing has enforced a mandate that all athletes over the age of 18, must undergo a PCR (polymerase chain reaction) genetic test - which can be conducted by a nasal or mouth swab - to determine the athlete's biological gender. . .Chess: Chess player Magnus Carlsen is, without a doubt, one of the most recognizable faces in the "sport" of Chess - - but on Sunday, we got a brief glimpse into Carlsen's obsessive nature to win, and his raw, unfiltered reaction to unexpectedly losing a chess match - - Not only did Carlsen suffer a stunning upset in a classical matchup against Nineteen year old chess "prodigy," Gukesh Dommaraju at the 2025 Norway Chess Tournament, but a short video clip of his reaction to the "L" found its way onto social media (primarily X/Twitter) that depicted Carlsen slamming both of his fists into the table before shaking his opponent's hand & vicariously walking away - - Carlsen entered the tournament as the No.1-ranked chess player in the world - according to Chess.com - however, it should be no surprise to learn that Gukesh, himself, is currently ranked the fourth best player in the world - - Q: How do you feel about Magnus Carlsen's "temper tantrum" after being handed this "L"?. . .NAIA College Baseball: On Friday night, the LSU-Shreveport Pilots college baseball team might have, arguably, accomplished one of the most difficult feats in sports history: The Pilots defeated Southeastern University (Lakeland, Florida) 13-7 to win the NAIA College Baseball Championship, and to finish the 2025 season with a perfect record of 59-0 - - LSUS became the first college baseball team on record to go undefeated - and they have appeared in the NAIA National Tournament every season dating back to 2005 - - Under HC Brad Neffendorf, the Pilots are a combined 270-49 over the past six seasons, and have been one of the top baseball programs at the NAIA level - - After completing the season with a perfect 59-0 record, LSU-Shreveport was acknowledged by the "World Wide Leader in Sports," or by ESPN, whom of which made mention of the team per their social media account - In the post, ESPN listed some of the most notable stats from the Pilots' 2025 season, and it certainly was surprising to discover that this team was even more impressive than initially thought: The Pilots played only four games decided by one run this season, ranked second at the NAIA level averaging 11.3 runs per game, ranked 3rd with a .361 batting average, has a 2.38 ERA, and finally, led the nation with a .982 fielding percentage. . .It is very difficult for the both of us to report that John Brenkus, 54, the six-time Emmy-winning host & co-creator of the "Sports Science" program on ESPN, has passed away after a public battle with depression - as was reported per his family on social media on Sunday evening - - We both grew up watching & fascinated by Brenkus' "Sports Science" segments, and it is truly unfortunate to learn of his passing - - Rest Easy, Pal . . . - MLB - After dragging the Colorado Rockies for the past couple weeks, it might come as no surprise to learn that the Rockies, have been swept yet again - becoming the 3rd fastest team in MLB history to record 50 losses on the season (9-50 record) - - but wait! "The ROCKIES ARE BACK!!" - - for the first time this MLB season, the Rockies have won a series: The Rockies defeated the Miami Marlins 6-4 on Monday night in a game where the Marlins set an MLB record for the "lowest attendance " to a game with a staggering 137 people attending the Rockies-Marlins game - but maybe this is why the Rockies won in the first place! - - Then, on Tuesday night, thanks to a late solo-HR by Hunter Goodman, the Rockies would prevail once again, 3-2, and regardless of the outcome from the series finale on Wednesday night, the Rockies have improved their historically awful record to 11-50, and have picked up their first win in a three-game series this MLB season. . ."51 + 51:" The Seattle Mariners made an announcement on Monday, but this was no ordinary 'Monday,' - this was the 35th anniversary of the day when the very first "no-hitter" was thrown in Mariners history - and the announcement certainly aligned with the day as the Mariners released a statement that the No.51 jersey, worn by Hall of Fame pitcher Randy Johnson (aka "the guy who threw that no-hitter") throughout his 9+ seasons with the franchise, will be retired next season - - Prior to the 1998 MLB trade deadline, the Mariners would go on to trade Johnson to the Houston Astros, and three years later - a Japanese star by the name of Ichiro Suzuki - would join the Mariners & dawn the No.51 jersey, as well - - The Mariners announced that Ichiro's No.51 jersey will also be retired, however, his jersey will be retired in August of this year, shortly after his induction ceremony into the Hall of Fame. . . - NCAA: News & Storylines - NCAA College Football: Last Thursday Afternoon, it was announced that significant change would be made to the induction rules for consideration or entry into the College Football Hall of Fame - - According to a press release from the National Football Foundation, the College Football Hall of Fame will reportedly lower its win percentage requirement for entry from 60% to 59.5% in 2027 - - The organization has paved the way, and following this rule change, the late Mississippi State & former Washington State head football coach, Mike Leach, will officially become eligible for induction, whereas, based on the previous rules for induction into the HOF had long prevented his entry: A head coach (a) must have been active for at least ten seasons, (b) must have coached in a minimum of 100 CFB games, and (c) must have a .600 (or better) overall winning percentage - - Leach met each of the previous qualifications with but one exception: he finished his career with a .596 winning percentage after coaching at Texas Tech University, Washington State University & Mississippi State University - each of which had historic disadvantages within their respective conferences (i.e., Big 12, PAC-12 & SEC, respectively). . .The SEC Conference is tightening the bolt on penalties for schools whose fans storm the football field or rush the basketball court, which generally occurs following an upset win - - a new policy, which is focused primarily on player safety, that the SEC Conference is hopeful will be implemented across its' Universities will allow the opposing program - including its players, coaches, & staff - an allotted time period, for instance, a minute (or sixty seconds), to depart the field before fans are allowed to begin their chaotic descent onto the field in his or her drunken stupor - - The SEC is doing away with the escalating fine structure system - which was initially instituted by the conference in 2004 - and will now charge programs $500,000 per incident, however, SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey did indicate that the conference also has the authority to waive the fine if the visiting team & officials are allowed to get to the locker room before the chaos begins - - Q: Do you think that the implementation of this new $500k fine per will lead to a drastic decline in the number of incidents that occur across the SEC Conference?. . .Per On3 Sports, the Florida Board of Governors voted 10-6 on Tuesday to turn down the University's hiring of former Michigan President, Santa Ono - - you really have to ask yourself: Why would the Board of Governors reject the hiring of a President who was formerly the President for a University that was involved in multiple scandals, prior to his departure⁉️. . .NCAA College Basketball: The NCAA's NBA Draft withdrawal deadline came and went last Wednesday night, but not without some interesting, last-minute drama - - In the finals days & even within the last couple hours, numerous teams held their breath as several major college basketball stars decide on their fate: remain in the NBA Draft & pursue a career (and future) at the next level OR withdraw from the NBA Draft & return to college for another season - - This theme carried throughout the deadline period, which featured major risers & fallers among draft prospects, momentum swings for programs and a reshaped draft landscape - - The biggest takeaways and standout moments from the deadline discussed in this episode include the following: (A) One of the Top NBA prospects is Returning to College in Ann Arbor (B) A Very Surprising Decision in Tuscaloosa (C) The Return that Most Likely Swings the NCAA title outcome - Houston NCAA College Baseball: The top two seeds in the NCAA College Baseball Tournament - Vanderbilt & Texas - were both elimincated in the Regional round on Sunday - - In the Nashville region, the Commodores became the first No.1 national seed to fail to reach its regional final since the tournament went to its current format in 1999 - after losing to Wright State, the No.4 seed out of the Horizon League - - however, the Raiders would fall to Louisville 6-0 later that evening - - Hours after Wright State eliminated No.1 seeded Vanderbilt, the No.2 seeded Texas Longhorns, were eliminated by the UTSA Roadrunners in the Austin Regional Championship - - this is only the second time since national seeds were introduced in 1999 that the top two seeds were both eliminated in the regionals, 2014 being the other year (i.e., No.1 Oregon State, No.2 Florida). . .JD is convinced that a large majority of NCAA College Baseball head coaches are some nasty, ruthless MFer's - but at the very least, one of these coaches was able to sit aside his pride (and ego) just long enough to admit his wrong & apologize for an incident that occurred on Monday evening - - Wake Forest HC Tom Walter apologized for what appeared to be an "anti-gay slur" caught by television cameras during an NCAA Regional game versus the Tennessee Volunteers - - Wake Forest AD John Curries stated that he was "surprised & deeply disappointed" and that he spoke with Walter following the game and again Tuesday morning - - The Volunteers did defeat the Demon Deacons 11-5 on Monday night to win the Knoxville Regional and earn a best-of-three super regional matchup with the "Hawg Tuah" Razorbacks of Arkansas for a chance to advance to the College World Series. . .NCAA College Softball: The Texas Tech Red Raiders softball team knocked off & eliminated the four-time defending champion, Oklahoma Sooners, on Monday to reach the Women's College World Series (WCWS) Finals - - The Red Raiders will face off against the Texas Longhorns in a best-of-three championship series - - Neither team have ever won a college softball title, so be prepared for sparks to fly - - Q: Who you got winning the 2025 WCWS: Texas Tech or Texas?. . . - NBA - A few hours after the New York Knicks were eliminated from the 2025 NBA Playoffs by the Indiana Pacers on Saturday night, a new report from The Athletic revealed that there was internal frustration around one particular shortcoming of PF/C Karl-Anthony Towns - - according to the report, Knicks players & coaches "expressed frustration" with KAT's poor defensive habits and worries that he did not get how important it was to stay connected on the defensive end of the floor - - Defense has long been an issue of concern for Towns, while offensively, his skill set for a big man is incredible - but this almost feels like New York's attempt to play the "blame card" on KAT for their loss in the Eastern Conference Finals - - Q: Do you believe that the Knicks are justified in their frustration with Towns' inept defensive mindset & awareness? Or do you think this is merely the franchise's way of "placing blame" and/or providing a reasonable explanation for why they were eliminated by the Pacers?. . .Fresh off their deepest playoff run in 25 years, the New York Knicks fired HC Tom Thibodeau on Tuesday - - the decision comes just three days after the Knicks were ousted from the ECF in six games by the Indiana Pacers, their longtime rivals - - but it also comes after New York advanced further into the playoffs than expected with a relatively new core set of players & after knocking out the NBA's defending champion, Boston Celtics in the second round - - Q: Why do you think that Knicks team President Leon Rose made the decision to part ways with HC Tom Thibodeau after these past two fifty-plus win seasons?. . . - NBA Playoffs Recap/Review & Finals Preview - JD & Spencer provide an in-depth analysis of the games from the 2025 NBA Playoffs, or more specifically, for those games played within the Eastern & Western Conferences - and provide individual player analysis & an overall reivew and recap for this past week's games - - The following NBA Conference Finals games are discussed in this episode: Game 5: No.1 seed Oklahoma City Thunder vs. No.6 Minnesota Timberwolves (OKC leads series 3-1) Game 5: No.3 seed New York Knicks vs. No.4 seed Indiana Pacers (IND leads series 3-1) Game 6: No.3 seed New York Knicks vs. No.4 seed Indiana Pacers (IND leads series 3-2) 2025 NBA Finals Preview: No.1 seed Oklahoma City Thunder vs. No.4 seed Indiana Pacers - - JD & Spencer provide a thorough preview of the this year's NBA Finals - and what individual factors are vital & what each team must do to pull out this best-of-seven championship series, and to be crowned NBA Champion - - Q: Which team wins the 2025 NBA Finals: the Thunder or Pacers? How many games do you expect the series to go?. . . - 2025-26 NCAA College Football Preseason Roll-Out - In contrast to last year, JD & Spencer made the decision, rather than performing a breakdown of each team by Conference, we would collectively pick a select number of questions related to the upcoming NCAA College Football season, and each provide our individual responses in an open discussion format. Responses for each of the following questions are included in this section/category of the episode: (1) 2024 Alabama Season-in-Review: What went wrong? What worked well? Where does JD & Spencer each stand on the HC Kalen DeBoer & the Crimson Tide moving forward into the 2025-26 CFB season?. . . (2) Will the Alabama Crimson Tide win more or less than their projected total of 9.5 games? Who will be the starting QB for the Alabama Crimson Tide this season: Ty Simpson, Austin Mack or Keelon Russell?. . . (3) Was the 2024 College Football season an anomaly for Mike Norvell's Florida State Seminoles? Can they bounce back in 2025?. . . (4) Who will be the breakout QB this upcoming CFB season?. . . (5) Who are the potential dark horse team(s) this upcoming season (aka, who is the 2025 version of Indiana/Arizona State?). . . (6) How many games will the North Carolina Tar Heels win in their first season under new HC Bill Belichick?. . . (7) Which College Football head coaches are entering into the 2025-26 season on the "hot seat" and/or have the most to prove to retain their position?. . . (8) According to PFF, the top five WR rooms entering the 2025 CFB season are: 1. Ohio State, 2. Auburn, 3. Clemson, 4. Ole Miss & 5. Alabama - - Do you agree with this order? If not, how would you rank the top five WR rooms enterning into the 2025 CFB season? Thanks for Listening!