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- 🇺🇸 Happy 4th From The Stump!
🇺🇸 Happy 4th From The Stump!
A patriotic-filled stump for you today...
Good Morning, Stumpers!
On this day in the year 1776, the USA………just kidding, we won’t get into all of those details for you today (or will we 👀). Hope everybody spends this fine Friday well! It’s been a bit of a hectic few days in the sports world so we’ll fill you in on the moves in the NBA and the history in baseball! It’s go time!
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The Rundown
🌭 Nathan’s 4th of July Classic
🏀 Ayton Now in LA! Does this move the needle?
⚾️ Kershaw Reaches 3,000 K’s! Historic!
💼 Knicks Hire Mike Brown as their next Head Coach!
On This Day
👋 Bye-Bye Britain

Eagle screeches in background… you know where I was going with this. Let me put on a good ol’ baseball cap, munch down a couple hot dogs, and tell you a quick story.
On this day in 1776, the Continental Congress officially adopted the Declaration of Independence, declaring the thirteen American colonies free from British Rule. Plenty of mead was drank that day, and it shall be again today. 7 years of fighting later, in 1783, the British forces finally waved the white flag and signed the Treaty of Paris, confirming American independence.
Today’s Trivia
How many Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contests has Joey Chestnut won in his career? |
Glue Guy of the Day
🌭 Nathan’s 4th of July Classic

Glue Guy of the Day: Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest
When it comes to a truly American event, nothing comes close to the Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest on American Independence Day. Talk about a GLUE event? It’s been a staple of the holiday for over 50 years, taking place in the iconic Coney Island near Brooklyn, New York.
Want to get even more glue? Nathan’s hot dogs was started by a Polish immigrant Nathan Handwerker who started the original hot dog stand in Coney Island in 1917. A hot dog stand? GLUE!
The first official and recorded contest took place in 1972 at Coney Island. Jason Schechter was the inaugural champion. You may be thinking, “yeah but they get a lot of money for winning this, right?”. Wrong. The winner only gets $10,000. Sure, yeah that’s a lot of money. But in the grand scheme of contests that you can win money in, and especially given the nature of this historic contest with all of it’s sponsors and television money, $10k does not seem like a lot of money.
These guys and gals are really doing this for the love of the contest. Take, for example, Joey Chestnut. While he’s dominated the contest for years, you could see how upset he was when he was suspended last year for a deal with Impossible Foods. He was hurt, disappointed, and broken by it. He’s a competitor, and he wanted to dominate. Not for the money, but for the pride. There’s not much more glue than that.
Talking about hot dogs, independence day, and a bunch of guys and gals doing something for the love of the game just fires me up. There’s not much more Glue than this contest. Tune in at 12:00 PM ET for the mayhem from Coney Island and the return of Joey Chestnut to the stage. LET’S GET EATING!
Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest? GLUE!
Weekend Moments

🏀 Does Ayton Move the Needle for Lakers?
The Stump Short Story: The Lakers needed a big man, BAD. They got one on Wednesday when former No. 1 overall pick Deandre Ayton agreed to a 2-year deal worth up to $34M next season. Ayton was bought out by the Trail Blazers last weekend and will now join Luka Doncic, who was selected two picks after him in the 2018 draft, and LeBron James. He averaged 14.4 points and 10.2 rebounds last season. He became the first player to average at least 10 points and 10 rebounds in each of his first seven NBA seasons.
Why it Matters: I really had to think about this one. Ayton has been a consistently effective and efficient big man in his career, but is he what the Lakers needed? I’m going to go with yes. He’s great around the rim, solid defensively, and knows his role. There were times in his young career where he almost felt like a ball hog, taking bad shots and not playing with high basketball IQ. But after a few years of basketball purgatory in Portland, I think he’s ready for the spotlight again. Ayton wasn’t really talked about much over the last few years, he quietly put together some solid stats. He has an injury history that must be seriously considered, but I do think this moved the needle for the Lakers. They have a big man.
Read More: Deandre Ayton to join Lakers on two-year deal (ESPN)
⚾️ Kershaw is Historic
The Stump Short Story: When you live on the East Coast, sometimes these late night stories fly under the radar. I wanted to make sure that this was not the case in terms of Clayton Kershaw historic evening. He became just the 20th pitcher in the history of Major League Baseball to reach the 3,000 career strikeout mark. Kershaw has thrown the fewest career innings of any member of this exclusive club, and also has the highest winning percentage. It truly is a special mark for a pitcher who has dominated baseball for his whole career.
Why it Matters: Kershaw made his first career start on May 25, 2008, striking out seven batters. 17-years later, two World Series rings, and more than 3,000 strikeouts, Kershaw is immortal. A career that has been plagued by injuries in the back end of his career, Kershaw has had to battle to get to this moment. Despite his time missed, he hasn’t really missed a beat. Always coming off of injuries and continuing to dominate, Kershaw has always quieted the haters. If he wasn’t a sure-fire Hall of Famer before, there’s no doubt he is now.
Read More: The moment it happened for Kershaw (via Dodgers on X)
💼 Knicks Have Their Head Man: Mike Brown
The Stump Short Story: The Knicks were two games away from the NBA Finals, and then they decided to part ways with Tom Thibodeau. This was the first time the Knicks had made the ECF since 2000, and they said see ya later. Many questioned this move, and others said this was writing on the wall. One thing that was certain was that they were not well prepared for the HC search. After many denied interviews, they have their guy. Mike Brown. The two-time Coach of the Year was last in charge for Sacramento, and was famously under Steve Kerr for three of the Golden State Championships.
Why it Matters: It’s going to be interesting in New York. They reloaded with Jordan Clarkson and Stump Star Guerschon Yabusele, and now they have their head guy. The East is going to be very very interesting this year. The Celtics and Pacers will be hurt all year. The Cavs still are in need of getting over the hump, and the door still seems for the Knicks to come out of the conference.
Read More: How Mike Brown Could Change the Knicks (ESPN)
🔗 Quick Links
Weekend Watching

⚾️ Weekend Baseball!
Subway Series in Queens! Yankees @ Mets
Rangers in San Diego
Astros head to the Dodgers
Red Sox in the nations capital against Nationals
⚽️ LOTSSSS of good soccer from around the world
FIFA Club World Cup: PSG vs Bayern Munich (12:00 PM on Saturday), Real Madrid @ Borussia Dortmund (4:00 PM on Saturday)
CONCACAF Gold Cup Final: United States vs Mexico (7:00 PM on Sunday)
🎾 Wimbledon keeps rolling into the weekend with Round 2 finishing up and Round 3 getting underway, check it out on the ESPN family of networks (not sponsored)
⛳️ We’re live all weekend from Silvis, Illinois in the John Deere Classic! Nothing says 4th of July weekend like a golf tournament sponsored by American lawn mower!
Of! The! Day’s!
Song of the Day![]() God Bless the U.S.A Lee Greenwood Did you know this song was released in 1984? Maybe I’m ignorant because of my age, but I thought this was like an OG American song. Nope. 1980’s! | Quote of the Day![]() “Just one more firework…” Jason Pierre Paul Too soon? Sorry. Don’t be like JPP with your fireworks. Be smart, be safe, and stay at a distance. That way you keep all your fingers! |
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