Tradition's Finest Episode 98 - "The QB Assassin Episode"

Welcome Back to the Tradition's Finest Podcast! Episode 98 - "The QB Assassin Episode" includes a discussion of the following sports-related topics: - Miscellaneous - UFC: Days after completing its merger with Skydance, the entertainment company, Paramount, has acquired the U.S. media rights to TKO Group's UFC with a 7-year, $7.7 billion dollar deal, which is scheduled to begin next year (2026) - - Paramount is reportedly paying an average of $1.1 billion per year, totaling $7.7 billion, for UFC's full slate of 13 marquee events & 30 "Fight Nights," per the companies' joint statement which were released earlier in the week - - All UFC matches and events will be available via the streaming application, Paramount+, and select events will be simulcast on CBS - - Paramount will not charge users any additional fees for access to these UFC events, which, in turn, eliminates the pay-per-view (PPP) model that ESPN+ has used for a majority of its' premium UFC events - - Q: Will Paramount's acquisition of the media rights to UFC - as well as the elimination the pay-per-view model - be mutually beneficial for both the sport as well as the streaming industry?. . .Per the announcement of UFC President Dana White, the UFC is set to host an event on the Fourth of July next year on the White House lawn in celebration of the United States 250^th birthday/independence - - White, who remains close friends with U.S. President Donald Trump, have had thorough discussions in the past regarding the possibility of the White House hosting such an event - as Trump hosted a few of the first-ever events in the sport at few of his business properties back in the early 2000's - - Q: How "America" is that - - a UFC event on the main lawn of the White House? - - What could go wrong?!. . . - MLB - "A Historical Moment:" Smashing the MLB's gender barrier, Jen Pawol, 48, made history as the first female umpire in league history to officiate a regular-season game in the majors - - Considering Pawol became the first female umpire to work behind the plate in the majors, making unprecedented history appear to be relatively routine, was especially impressive - - In Pawol's highly anticipated, and smooth-sailing, debut, which came as the first-base umpire for Saturday's first game of a split doubleheader between the Atlanta Braves & Miami Marlins - - To follow up her impressive performance at first base, Pawol moved behind home plate, placing her in the brightest spotlight for an umpire, where she breezed through Sunday's Marlins-Braves game, calling a "strike" on her first official call as a plate umpire - sadly, Braves LHP Joey Wentz & Marlins starting pitcher Cal Quantrill combined for a total of three strikeouts in Sunday's matchup - - Following Atlanta's 7-1 victory over the Marlins on Sunday evening, both team managers spoke positively of Pawol as well as to mention her professionalism on the baseball field - - Pawol was called up from the minor leagues as a rover umpire, and so, her next assignment in the majors has not yet been announced, but after her debut performance, you can expect for it to be right around the corner - - Q: What were your thoughts on Jen Pawol's 'umpiring skills' this weekend? While there were very few opportunities for disputes on the field, could you imagine a scenario (and the potential suspension that would follow) where an MLB manager ultimately 'lost his cool,' and went after a female umpire?. . .A Hawaiian real estate investor & broker are reportedly suing the MLB's Shohei Ohtani, claiming that the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar - and his agent - got them fired from a $240 million luxury housing development on the Big Island's coveted Hapuna Coast that they had brought him in to endorse - - According to the lawsuit filed in Hawaii Circuit Court last Friday, Ohtani's agent, Nez Balelo, increasingly demanded concessions from the both the developer & broker prior to demanding that their business partner, Kingsbarn Realty Capital, drop them from the deal - - Per the Plaintiffs' lawsuit, Ohtani & Balelo "exploited their celebrity leverage to destabilize and ultimately dismantle [their] role in the project - - [and] for no reason other than their own financial self-interest," - - The individual properties that were to be developed, and eventually listed by Matsumoto - the deal's broker - who was to become the listing agent for the houses, which were estimated to average $17.3 million each - - Q: What were your initial thoughts of the lawsuit filed against Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani & his agent on behalf the housing development developer & broker - was their primary motivation not an endorsement deal with one of the most high-profile athletes in the world, which would be used as a bold marketing strategy to, in turn, sell each of the properties above their respective value?. . .MLB Hall of Famer and 13-time All-Star Mariano Rivera tore his Achilles tendon while attempting to track a fly ball at the Yankees' annual Old-Timers' Day game on Saturday, and per multiple sources, will now require surgery to repair the torn tendon - - The event, which commemorated the 25^th Anniversary of the 2000 Yankees championship team, or the last MLB franchise to win three-straight World Series titles - - In his lone at-bat, Rivera singled off former teammate Andy Pettitte and easily ran to first base, however, during Willie Randolph's at-bat, Rivera took a step and fell to the ground in shallow center field behind second base, becoming the second player to sustain an injury at the event since 2017. . . - NCAA: News & Storylines - Jimbo Fisher, who received a record $76 million buyout after he was fired as Texas A&M head football coach in 2023 after going 45-25, says he wants to return to the sideline - - Fisher, who recently joined the ACC Network as an analyst, told the "Trials to Triumph" podcast earlier this week that he is looking for "the right situation," to return to coaching at the NCAA or collegiate level - - Fisher stated on the podcast the he misses "the relationship with players. I would be very interested in still doing it. I still think I've got a lot to give. I'd like to get back out there." - - Q: What are your thoughts about the possibility of a return to coaching for Jimbo Fisher?. . .Ty Simpson will open the 2025 college football season as the QB for the University of Alabama, per Crimson Tide HC Kalen DeBoer on Monday afternoon - - Simpson, who has served as Alabama's backup QB each of the past two seasons, and is in his 4th year on campus, beat out redshirt sophomore Austin Mack & true freshman Keelon Russell for the job - - Q: What was your initial reaction to the news that Ty Simpson had been announced as the Crimson Tide's starting QB?. . .Due to Conference Realignment, the Washington State Cougars & the Oregon State Beavers, the only two teams remaining in the Pac-12 Conference, will split a rare regular season home-and-home series - and will be facing each other twice this season in regular-season play - - Q: Will you be tuning into "Pac-12 After Dark" to catch both of the WSU-OSU matchups this season?. . .The new University of Oklahoma QB, John Mateer, has found himself embroiled in the midst of controversy - as screenshots of a few questionable Venmo transactions have surfaced earlier this week on social media - - The screenshots illustrate that Mateer paid someone in 2022, with the description of the transaction being "sports gambling," and "sports gambling (UCLA vs. USC)" - - The 2022 season marked Mateer's first year with Washington State, meaning he was not allowed, per the NCAA by-laws, to gamble on college football - - Mateer's Venmo activity has since been removed or made private - - Oklahoma officials have acknowledged Mateer's alleged Venmo transactions, but the Sooners QB has "consistently denied" being involved with [sports] gambling - - On Tuesday, Mateer posted a statement on social media, claiming that the Venmo descriptions were just "inside jokes between [him and his] friends." - - Q: What are your thoughts regarding the John Mateer screenshots from Venmo? Do you believe him that the descriptions were simply "inside jokes?" Do you expect John Mateer to be suspended by the University of Oklahoma?. . . - NFL - The Los Angeles Chargers offensive line has been dealty a significant blow: Just weeks after signing a 4-year, $114M extension to become the highest-paid OL in NFL history in terms of annual average salary, Rashawn Slater - the blind-side protector of QB Justin Herbert - has suffered a potentially major setback - - An All-pro LT, Slater, will be sidelined for the entire 2025 NFL season with a ruptured patellar tendon, the team confirmed last Friday evening - - The Chargers star LT went down during team drills at last Thursday's practice and was unable to put any weight on his left leg - - The 315-lb Slater was eventually carted off the field, visibly frustrated, slamming his helmet & pounding the cart in anger before trainers draped a towel over his head - - The 26-year-old is expected to undergo surgery to repair the torn tendon, and the Chargers have officially moved Slater to the "injured reserve" or IR list. . .Q: Obviously, you feel awful for the guy, but a solid argument could be made that Chargers QB Justin Herbert could "feel" even worse this upcoming season after losing his blind-side protection to a season-ending injury - How much of an impact does the loss of Slater have on the Chargers' OL and it's ability to block for QB Justin Herbert?. . . The New England Patriots unveiled a 12-foot bronze statue of Tom Brady outside Gillette Stadium on Friday, the culmination of a promise team owner Robert Kraft made last year when the former QB was inducted into the team's Hall of Fame - - The statue was created by a local sculptor, who is a longtime Patriots fan, and the granite base was quarried in Vermont, one of the six New England state - - In addition, the shape represents the six Super Bowl championships, and with the base, it is 17-feet tall, which symbolizes the number of AFC East titles won during Brady's tenure - - Near the end of his speech/remarks, Brady delivered another joke, saying "The statue isn't just for Pats fans. It will also give all the Jets fans something to throw their beers at as they leave the stadium every year. Probably in the second QTR. Maybe the third." - - All the while, at the onset of the Patriots' preseason opener versus the Washington Commanders, TreVeyon Henderson took a 100-yard opening kickoff return TD to the house to open the game - - Cleveland Browns QB Shedeur Sanders did not disappoint in his highly anticipated NFL preseason debut - - Sanders threw a pair of first half TD passes in the Browns' 30-10 preseason-opening victory over the Carolina Panthers on Friday night - - In a little less than three QTRs, Sanders completed 14 of 23 passes for 138 yards & 2 TDs, and he added 19 rushing yards, prior to being pulled from the game for the Browns most recent QB signing, Tyler Huntley - - Q: What were your thoughts on QB Shedeur Sanders' performance in the Browns' preseason opener? What overall grade would you give him?. . .Jaguars K Cam Little made a 70-yard FG as the first half expired in Jacksonville's preseason-opending loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers at EverBank Stadium on Saturday night, a kick that would have broken Justin Tucker's NFL record of 66 yards, had it been made in a regular-season game - - Q: Should Cam Little's 70-yard FG in the Jaguars' preseason opener have counted, and therefore breaking the NFL record of 66 yards?. . .Former NFL HC Jon Gruden came up with a big win in his ongoing legal battle with the NFL on Monday - - The Nevada Supreme Court ruled in Gruden's favor - a 5-3 decision - that his lawsuit against the league cannot be sent into arbitration, allowing the case to proceed in public - - Most recently, Gruden has been in the news for a different reason: he has expressed interest in a return to coaching, indicating that he would "really like to coach in the SEC Conference," - - Q: Which SEC Conference program could you envision Jon Gruden coaching?. . . - 2025-26 College Football Preseason Prediction Showcase PT. V: SEC Conference - - In their quest to preview & provide their individual predictions for the upcoming 2025-26 college football season, JD & Spencer complete the saga in this episode's final segment - - In the final "Preseason Prediction Showcase," JD & Spencer preview what they consider to be the 'cream of the crop' of college football, aka The SEC Conference - - Their predictions are independent/unique, and were not discussed prior to the onset of this episode - and their overall predictions are introduced by way of their responses to the following six agreed-upon questions: 1. Which teams of the SEC Conference would you predict to be "Championship Contenders" next season? 2. Which teams of the SEC Conference would you predict to be "Championship Pretenders" next season? 3. Which programs would you consider to function as "sleeper team(s)" of the SEC Conference next season? 4. Who are a few "players to watch" out of the SEC Conference next season? 5. Which SEC Conference teams do you predict to play for the 2025-26 Conference Championship? Which team do you predict to win the SEC Conference Championship? 6. How many SEC Conference teams do you predict to receive a bid into the 2025-26 College Football Playoff? Which teams? Thanks for Listening!