Good Morning, Stumpers!

It’s said that in the early 8th century, tree stumps were symbolic of peace, prosperity, and some were even worshipped as gods. Completely made that up but if you say it in a Morgan Freeman style voice doesn’t that just absolutely work?? Anyway, great Stump for ya today, we’ve got Flag Football, a SHOWTIME Walkoff, and some more extensions on the Diamond! Let’s do this thing!

Today’s Rundown

What’s in today’s edition?

• 🏈 Could Flag Football be up next?

• ⚾️ Extensions on the Diamond!

• 💥 Dodgers erase 5-0 deficit, OHTANI WALKOFF!

• 🏒 OVI gets one closer!

On This Day

On This Day…

😱 Popovich Ejected in 63 Seconds

It doesn’t take much for many professional sports coaches to loose their marbles on a referee. In fact, some coaches don’t go very long without getting in a refs ear after a bad call or no call. In the case of Gregg Popovich this one time, he didn’t even waste a minute.

On this day in 2019, legendary San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich was ejected just 63 seconds into their game. Pop and the ref got into a screaming match, and Pop was awarded a flagrant 2 foul and subsequently thrown out of the game. It was, and still is, a record for fastest ejection in NBA history.

Today’s Trivia

🧠 Test your sports knowledge…

Yesterday’s Trivia Answer: B. Philadelphia Flyers! C’mon now! It’s Gritty, he’s the man.

Before We Dive In…

👀 Yesterday’s Must See’s

• 🥊 Is this Wrestling or Hockey?

• ⚾️ Muncy erases 5-0 deficit, wonder how this one will end…

• 💥 WITH AN OHTANI BOMB! WALKOFF! HOW ELSE??

• 🏀 We gotta figure this out Russ…sheesh

🔍️ Stump Spotlight

Critical Thinking Thursday

🏈 Is Flag Football the Future?

The NFL Owners Meetings often bring a lot of interesting discussion and usually some pretty good quotes. But one of the more NFL adjacent topics that have come out of this years edition is all the flag football talk. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell gave us a little sneak peak of what may becoming in the future…

News came out yesterday that NFL players may be able to become Olympic athletes at the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. Flag football will be apart of the games, and NFL players have been lobbying to be allowed to participate. But could that just be a preview of what the future is going to bring?

I don’t mean that tackle football is going away, nobody is saying that. Goodell did, however, discuss the potential of a future Professional Flag Football League. The NFL is in early, but aggressive, discussions for both a men’s and women’s league, and the list of investors is not short in the slightest.

The NFL has received bids submitted by 10 different groups, and the round of bids will close at the end of the work week. Bloomberg reported that the 10 groups include Alexis Ohanian’s investment firm 776, TKO Holdings, Ice Cube, Connect Ventures (a partnership between talent agency CAA and venture firm New Enterprise Associates), and SMAC Entertainment, which is a media company co-founded by Michael Strahan.

Flag football has not only been increasing in conversations, but also in the real world. According to the National Federation of High Schools, about 500,000 girls ages 6 to 17 played flag football in 2023 — a 63% increase since 2019. That makes it one of the fastest-growing sports in the Unites States. The NFL states that more than 750,000 individuals participate in its NFL flag football league nationwide, as all 32 NFL teams have sponsored their own teams for years.

This is one of the best ways that the NFL has seen growth in the sport both in the United States and abroad. One of the reasons, and this is me just guessing, is it’s such a low barrier to entry for families. Unlike many other sports, flag football really has no costs associated with it. I guess other than cleats, everything else is typically provided by the league. It allows kids to get out and run around, learn the game, while also not necessarily worrying about severe injuries or concussions related with contact football.

The NFL is going to keep investing in this, so I recommend you get used to seeing a lot of flag football in your future.

The Hot Stove

🤑 MLB Contract Extension Palooza

There must’ve been something in the water yesterday, because there were THREE big deals that went down. That’s pretty rare in-season. Here’s who singed what:

• Jackson Merrill, San Diego Padres: The day started off with a bang when news broke yesterday morning that the Padres and their young star outfielder Jackson Merrill reached a nine-year contract extension worth up to $204 million. Merrill celebrated by hitting a two-run home run last night. Merrill was an All-Star as a rookie and has all the makings of a super star.

• Kristian Campbell, Boston Red Sox: Another day, another Boston Red Sox locked up long term. Campbell is only six games into his MLB career, but Boston had seen enough to give him an 8-year, $60 million contract. Campbell was the 2024 minor league player of the year and the Red Sox’s second best prospect coming into the season. He was selected by Boston in the fourth round of the 2022 MLB Draft.

• Ketel Marte, Arizona Diamondbacks: After finishing third in MVP voting last year, Marte has earned a new contract in Arizona. The two sides reached a six year extension worth up to $149.5 million. Playing both infield and outfield previously in his career, Ketel has settled in at second base over the last two seasons in Arizona. His unique combination of power and contact as a hitter has turned him into one of baseballs most dominant hitters. This caps off a trend of Arizona locking up some of their key players while not being afraid to spend money.

👀 Ovi Tacks On ANOTHER Goal

The Great Eight is one goal closer to becoming the leading goal scorer in NHL history. If you opened up the Stump yesterday and saw our Ovi section, you’ll know it’s time to start watching all of his games. It’s any game now that he’s going to pass Gretzky’s record, and I have a feeling we’ll be talking about him a lot over the next couple days. He’s red hot right now and seems to be scoring every single game for Washington, and is just two goals away from tying the all time record. Do you think Ovi could just end it with a hat trick? That would be electric! The Caps play again tomorrow night against the Blackhawks at 7:30 PM on NHL Network.

🏈 Sac. State Applying to Become Division 1

Sacramento State has been one of the most aggressive schools in the country over the last couple of years in terms of investing in it’s programs. Now, it’s official that the school will file an application with the NCAA to become a Division One football program for the 2026 season. The Hornets will apply as an independent program, as they do not currently have a conference invite. While the program was 3-9 last season, they hired a new head coach in rising offensive star Brennan Marion, who spent the last few seasons as the offensive coordinator at UNLV and helped turn around a program there. Sacramento is a top-20 media market in the country and has aggressively been attacking the NIL market, adding former division one FBS players to their roster and creating a fund that can support a high level FBS program. Time will only tell if this is a smart move for Sac. State, but the chance to compete at a high level will surely attract more talent and infuse the program with high-level athletes.

⬇️ Quick Links

• ⚾️ DBacks and Marte reach 6 year extension

• 🏀 AD dominates to help Mavs beat Hawks

• 🏀 Early guide to Final Four matchups!

What To Watch

🏀 The NCAA Tournament…

• Men’s Final Four: Now we wait!

• Women’s Final Four: Waiting here too!

🏀 NBA Basketball - TNT Double Header!

• TNT: Grizzlies @ Heat (7:30 PM), Warriors @ Lakers (10:00 PM)

• More to watch: Timberwolves @ Nets (7:30 PM), Blazers @ Raptors (7:30 PM)

⚾️ Major League Baseball

• Schedule: Red Sox @ O’s (1:05 PM), Rockies @ Phillies (1:05 PM), Astros @ Twins (4:10 PM), Dbacks @ Yanks (7:05 PM), Reds @ Brewers (7:40 PM), full schedule

🏒 The NHL on ESPN+

• ESPN+: Lightning @ Senators (7:00 PM), Avs @ Blue Jackets (7:30 PM), Penguins @ Blues (8:00 PM), Jets @ Golden Knights (10:00 PM)

⚽️ Soccer from England!

• Premier League: Chelsea vs Tottenham (3:00 PM on Peacock)

⛳️ The tournament BEFORE the Masters! The Valero Texas Open gets started this morning from TPC San Antonio in, you guessed it, San Antonio, Texas. Here’s the leaderboard…

The Moment You’ve Been Waiting For

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