Tradition's Finest Episode 94 - "The Boot Ware Episode"

Welcome Back to the Tradition's Finest Podcast! Episode 94 - "The Boot Ware Episode" includes a discussion of the following sports-related topics: - Miscellaneous - Famed competitive eater Joey "Jaws" Chestnut reclaimed his title last Friday at the Nathan's Famous Fourth of July hot dog eating contest after skipping last year's gastronomic battle in New York for the coveted Mustard Belt - - Chestnut, 42, consumed 70 1/2 hot dogs and buns in ten minutes, falling just short of his 2021 record of 76 glizzys - - It marked his 17th win out of 20 appearances for the Westfield, Indiana, eater at the internationally televised competition - which he missed last year over a contract dispute - - Chestnut bested 14 fellow competitors from across the U.S. and the world, including Australia, the Czech Republic, Ontario, England & Brazil - - Last year's winner, Patrick Bertoletti of Chicago, came in second place after gobbling up 46 1/2 hot dogs and bunds, falling short of the 58 he ate to earn the 2024 Men's title - - Q: What are your thoughts on the sport of Major Competitive Eating? Is it safe to say that Chestnut is the greatest athlete of all time (GOAT)?. . . - MLB - On 15 occasions last Wednesday, Clayton Kershaw reached two strikes with an opposing hitter and 53,536 Dodger Stadium fans rose to their feet, almost as if to propel their longtime ace to history - - They clapped, they yelled, they hoped, and often, in the end, they sighed - - By the time the sixth inning rolled around, Kershaw had accumulated just two strikeouts on the night and 2,999 for his career - - It began to feel as if one of the most hallowed milestones in baseball history would happen on the road, away from the people who spent close to two decades stirring with every pitch that came out of Kershaw's left hand - - And then it happened, at the last possible moment, with two outs in the sixth inning, on Kershaw's 100th pitch - - a backdoor slider that caught the outside corner, freezing Chicago White Sox third baseman Vinny Capra & making Kershaw the 20th player ever to reach 3,000 strikeouts - - Kershaw is just the 4th left-hander to reach 3,000 strikeouts, joining Randy Johnson, Steve Carlton & CC Sabathia - - He is one of just three active pitchers, along with Justin Verlander & Max Scherzer, the two who are often lumped with him among the greatest of this generation - - And he is one of just five to accumulate that many strikeouts with just one team, along with Walter Johnson, Bob Gibson, Carlton & John Smoltz. . .San Francisco's Patrick Bailey's entrace into the MLB record books Tuesday night began with a tight swing from the Giants catcher that sent a fastball from Phillies reliver Jordan Romano into Triples Alley - - It ended with Bailey chugging around 3rd base and then getting mobbed by his teammates at home plate after becoming the third catcher in major league history to hit a walk-off, inside-the-park home run - - The three-run homer lifted the Giants to a 4-3 victory that had the Oracle Park crowd roaring as Bailey crossed the plate. . .It was announced on Wednesday that the MLB will use the automated ball-strike challenge system (ABS) during next week's All-Star Game in Atlanta - - The decision comes after the league revealed that it could begin using ABS on a full-time basis starting in 2026 - - In this year's All-Star Game, umpires will call balls & strikes - however, each team will be given two challenges via ABS - successful challenges are retained - - Only pitcher, catchers, and hitters can request for a challenge - - Q: What are your thoughts on the MLB's decision to utilize the ABS system during next week's All-Star Game? Does the use of the ABS system, and essentially its prevention "human-related error" take away some of the "fun" of the game?. . . - NCAA: News & Storylines - "Wanna Feel Old?:" Class of 2026 WR Devin Fitzgerald, son of eleven-time Pro Bowl selection and second all-time NFL receiving yards leader Larry Fitzgerald, has officially committed to Notre Dame, he announced on Saturday night - - Oh, but we're NOT done yet: OLB Thomas Davis Jr., the son of former Carolina Panthers LB Thomas Davis, and WR Kaydon Finley, the son of former Green Bay Packers TE Jermichael Finley - are also 2026 recruits that are currently committed to Notre Dame - - Q: Do you think the unrealistic expectations placed on the offspring of former professional athletes makes it almost impossible to replicate, especially for WR Devin Fitzgerald, whose father is an NFL legend?. . .EA Sports did the University of Kentucky's punter extremely dirty with a "pathetic" rating for the recently released College Football 26 video game - - P Aidan Laros is rated the least tough player in college football according to EA Sports - - The video game gave him a rating that does not apply to any of the other 16,000+ athletes on the FBS level - - While EA Sports considered Laros to be one of the better punters in the SEC Conference by giving him an overall rating of 77 for the game, it also ranked him as the least tough player in the entire country with a toughness rating of zero - - Laros is the only player in the game with a toughness rating of zero - - this is brutal! - - On the other hand, Oregon LB Teitum Tuioti for some reason has a toughness rating of 9, while NC State CB Jackson Vick & Indiana FS Christian Peterson have toughness ratings of 55 - - Q: Do you think this was an intentional rating applied for Aidan Lanos? Or a glitch?. . . - NBA - The Clippers, Jazz & Heat agreed to a trade on Monday that sends Norman Powell to Miami, John Collins to Los Angeles, and Kevin Love, Kyle Anderson and a 2027 Clippers second-round pick to Utah - - After Kevin Love learned about the trade, he posted his thoughts on social media - - Love joked that he never thought that he would be part of a math problem - - Love, who was a leader in Miami's locker room, is reportedly considered a buyout candidate by the Jazz, and is unlikely to ever play for Utah, as they likely shift their focus to their young core - - Miami is looking rebound from a tumultous season that included the Jimmy Butler trade to Golden State and ended with a first-round sweep in the NBA Playoffs by the Cleveland Cavaliers - - Powell adds offensive firepower & was a 42% shooter from behind the arc last season - - Q: With the acquisition of sharpshooter Norman Powell, are the Miami Heat the clear winners in this three-team trade?. . ."Shocker, much?:" Indiana Pacers team President Kevin Pritchard confirmed on Monday that PG Tyrese Haliburton will miss the entire 2025-26 NBA season after he underwent successful surgery to repair the torn right Achilles tendon that he suffered in Game 7 of this year's NBA Finals - - Q: While it is no surprise that Haliburton will miss the entire 2025-26 NBA season for the Pacers, when combined with the loss of PF/C Myles Turner to the Milwaukee Bucks in free agency, what are your expectations (i.e., ceiling/floor) and/or outlook for the Indiana Pacers next season?. . . After becoming the second-youngest team in NBA history to win a title, the reigning NBA Champions, Oklahoma City Thunder, wasted little to no time making sure that they retained their "Big 3" in Chet Holmgren (23), Jalen Williams (24) & NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (26) this offseason - - SGA agreed to a supermax contract extension late last week, while both Holmgren & Williams agreed to fully-guaranteed five-year maximum rookie contract extensions that could reach $250 and $287 million, respectively - - In total, the "Big 3" signed contracts for a combined total of $885 million (Shohei Ohtani, eat your heart out!). . . - NFL - Minnesota Vikings OLB Dallas Turner was allegedly a victim of a bank fraud scheme that resulted in the theft of $240,000 - - According to the Eagan (Minnesota) Police Department "several suspects have been identified, and [they] are working toward criminal charges to hold them accountable," - - Approximately $2,500 of the stolen funds have been returned, while the investigations remains active - - According to a search warrant affidavit filed in Dakota County District Court this week, Turner & his attorney contacted the Eagan Police Department in April to report the fraud - - Per the affidavit, someone impersonating a banker at JPMorgan Chase Bank called Turner on Feb. 19th and "claimed someone was attempting to impersonate [Turner] at a Chase Bank branch in Arizona and presented two copies of ID to execute a wire transfer," per The Minnesota Star Tribune, which published details of the document - - The caller instructed Turner to transfer money to two separate businesses to prevent the attempted theft - - Turner then went to two Chase Bank branches to transfer $120,000 each to "Island Food Truck LLC" and "CNFL FL LLC" - - Turner, 22, later realized that he may have been a victim of a fraud scam - - Q: Have you ever been a victim of a bank/credit card scheme?. . . - 2025 College Football Group of Five Prediction Showcase - In College Football, the Group of Five (G5) are five athletic conferences whose members are part of the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) - - The five conferences include the following: American Athletic (or American) Conference (AAC), Conference USA (CUSA), Mid-American Conference (MAC), Mountain West Conference (MWC) & Sun Belt Conference - - The Group of Five and their schools, also referred to as the "mid-majors" are generally considered less prestigious, have less political & financial influence, generate less overall revenue - but in the modern-day NIL/transfer portal-era, it is entirely possibly for a few solid, above average, G5 teams appear and/or slip through the power conference cracks - - In this prediction showcase, JD & Spencer will provide their individual & independent projections and/or predictions to a series of five questions concerning each of the Group of Five conferences for the upcoming 2025-26 college football season; The following questions (or topics) are discussed within this episode: 1. Who are a couple (or a few) QB's from the Group of Five Conference(s) that you expect to have a breakout season in 2025-26?. . . 2. Who will be the "sleeper" team for each G5 Conference in 2025-26?. . . 3. For each G5 Conference, who do you predict to play in the Conference Championship Game? Who will be the Conference Champion?. . . 4. For each G5 Conference, which team's head coach do you predict to be awarded the Conference Coach of the Year? 5. Beginning in the 2024 college football season, at least one G5 Conference champion is effectively guaranteed entry into the College Football Playoff under the expanded 12-team format (i.e., Mountain West Conference Champion, Boise State, was awarded the No.3 seed in the 2024-25 CFP) - - Which G5 Conference Champion will receive a bid into next year's or the 2025-26 College Football Playoff, and at what seed?. . . Thanks for Listening!