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Today’s Rundown

Everything you’ll get from today’s edition, and more:

• 🥹 Myles Garrett wants out of Cleveland

• 👋 MLB says goodbye to an umpire.. right or wrong decision?

• 🤝 Cooper Kupp says the Rams are moving on

• 🏀 Huge schedule of college basketball on today’s slate

On This Day

On This Day…

🏒 NHL All-Stars Come to New England

Believe it or not there was a time when Connecticut did have a professional hockey franchise, and on this day in 1986, the hockey world converged on Hartford. The 38th NHL All-Star game was held at the Hartford Civic Centre in central CT.

The Wales Conference defeated the Campbell Conference, 4-3, in an overtime battle. The MVP of the game was Grant Fuhr, a goalie from the Edmonton Oilers. We miss professional hockey in CT!

Trivia Time

🧠 Test your sports knowledge…

Yesterday’s Trivia Answer: C. Beyonce! Following her iconic Super Bowl performance in 2013, there was a stadium-wide blackout that delayed the start of the second half!

Before We Dive In…

👀 Here’s Yesterday’s MUST-See’s

• ❄️ TRAE YOUNG GAME WINNER

• 🤯 Steph Castle giving a preview of the slam dunk contest with this one

• 😗 Ochocinco Giving Nick Sirianni a little smooch

• 🎤 Reporter Jameis on the case

The Hot Stove

NFL

🏈 Myles Garrett Wants Out of Cleveland

What to know: The life of a Browns fan is a tired one. It’s cyclical, I’d argue it’s even predictable. And this, while disappointing, is predictable. As a Browns fan, I can’t argue with Myles Garrett wanting to get out of Cleveland, sometimes I want to trade my fandom too. When you’re the best defensive player in the NFL and year after year you don’t win, don’t see the results, and don’t see a light at the end of the tunnel, you may want a change of scenery, too.

Myles Garrett is my favorite player in the NFL, has been for years. I’ll put that out there for everyone to see. He’s the most dominant player in the league, and he’s an awesome guy with a great personality. He’s given everything to Cleveland. He’s seen multiple coaches, multiple GMs, a seemingly infinite amount of QBs, and more losses than he can count. His tenure in Cleveland has been, well, painful. And none of it is his fault.

When the Browns traded for DeShaun Watson they made a deal with the devil. If Watson didn’t perform, not only would the Browns lose games, but they would lose the faith of all the fans and players attached to the organization. And now that Watson has been every bit of the worst trade in NFL history, the Browns are paying for it. They wasted the best years of Nick Chubb, Myles Garrett, and one of the more talented rosters in the NFL, all because they had to have the QB.

All that being said, I just don’t see a world where the Browns trade Garrett. I think there isn’t an asking price that will get the best defensive player out of Cleveland. I just don’t. What will that mean? Garrett holding out? I don’t know. This is pretty uncharted waters. Garrett’s stats will thank him for this, as he sees more double and triple teams than any other player in the whole league. On a team with more depth and talent, he’s be even more successful.

As a Browns fan, I want Garrett to stay. As a Garrett fan, go find yourself a place to win.

MLB

⚾️ Umpire Fired for Betting

What to know: Major League Baseball announced yesterday that following a lengthy appeals process, the league has fired umpire Pat Hoberg for “sharing” legal sports betting accounts with a friend of his who bet on baseball. Hoberg also intentionally deleted messages key to the investigation into his conduct.

MLB said that Hoberg denied betting on baseball directly and/or indirectly, and commissioner Rob Manfred said there is no evidence that Hoberg bet on any games or manipulated the outcomes of any games. Hoberg used his friend’s account to bet on non-MLB events.

Personally, I think this is crazy. I mean, I get it. When there’s smoke there’s fire, and you don’t want the integrity of the game to be at stake. So, I get it. Professional sports organizations are kind of backed into a corner these days when it comes to this kind of stuff. However, I do think a lengthy suspension would’ve done the trick here. Perhaps, without pay.

This surely isn’t the first of this kind of stuff that will come out as sports betting becomes a more and more prominent piece of everyday sporting events, so leagues will have to begin to have some sort of process in play for this moving forward. Is the answer always going to be to fire?

NFL

🏈 Rams Motivated to Move Kupp

What to know: Not sure what was in the water yesterday but first Garrett, and now Kupp. The star Rams WR took to social media yesterday to announce that he was informed by the Rams that they are looking to “find the right place (for him) to continue competing for championships”. They will seek an immediate trade.

Kupp has spent the entirety of his career in LA and had a record-breaking 2021 season that saw him lead the NFL in receptions, receiving yards, and receiving touchdowns. But Kupp has seen a decreased role in recent seasons as he has had some injuries, along with the emergence of Puka Nakua.

Kupp said in his post that he is “highly motivated” and “healthy as ever”, which is a good sign for whichever teams wants to add him. Look for Kupp to be on the move in the next few weeks.

Quick Hitters

• 🚫 Minnesota Wild forward Hartman suspended for 10 games

• 🤝 Mathys Tel joins Tottenham on loan from Bayern Munich

• 🏀 Kansas hands Iowa State third-straight loss

• 🏈 Goodell says NFL ‘better’ because of diversity efforts

What We’re Watching

🏀 TNT Double Header with some big time match ups!

• Celtics @ Cavs (7:30 PM)

• Lakers @ Clippers (10:00 PM)

🏒 HUGEEEEE slate coming out of the NHL!

• Panthers @ Capitals (7:00 PM), Hurricanes @ Jets (8:00 PM), Maple Leafs vs Flames (9:00 PM)

🏀 College Basketball ranked action:

• Men’s: (11) Marquette vs (12) St. Johns (6:30 PM on FS1), Vandy vs (6) Florida (7:00 PM), (7) Purdue @ Iowa (7:00 PM), (14) Kentucky vs (25) Ole Miss (7:00 PM on ESPN), Oklahoma vs (1) Auburn (9:00 PM), Indiana vs (21) Wisconsin (9:00 PM), Baylor vs (13) Texas Tech (9:00 PM on ESPN2), (9) Michigan State vs UCLA (10:00 PM)

• Women’s: No women’s ranked action!

⚽️ Fútbol!

• Spanish Cup: Atletico vs Getafe (3:30 PM)

• French Cup: Le Mans vs PSG (3:10 PM)

The Moment You’ve Been Waiting For

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Trees may get chopped. Stumps hold strong 🌴