👋 Good Morning Stump Nation!

A Minor Stump change again today! Trying to get a little bit better every single day! That’s what it’s all about though right? Nobody is ever going to be perfect but we can strive for being 1% better than we were yesterday! Happy Wednesday! GLUE GUY TOURNEY rules are live on our IG! Check it out!

You LOVE Podcasts? Perfect. We got just the one for you.

You DON’T like podcasts? Perfect. We have the ONLY one for you.

Links below ⬇️⬇️⬇️ 

LETS. GET. INTO. IT.  

THE DAILY STUMPED🔮

What was the original name of the NBA?

• A. Basketball Association of America

• B. American Basketball Club

• C. Basketball of America

• D. The American Association of American Basketball

• E. They were a horse with no name…

Answer at the bottom of The Stump!

ON THIS DAY🗓️ 

On this day in 1975…

The Lithuanian legend, Zydrunas “Big Z’s” Ilgauskas, was born into this world. The 7’3” STUD played 13 years so the Cavs before joining the Heat and LeBron in 2010-11 for his final year.

Check out the ELITE highlights from Big Z’s career: LINK

YESTERDAY IN SPORTS📰 

Breaking News…

• ⚾️San Diego Padres Tucupita Marcano received a LIFETIME ban from the MLB after news broke he was betting on Pirates games while he was on the team, let’s break it down:

  • Lost EVERY PARLAY involving his own team, woof

  • Won just 4.3% of his MLB-related bets

  • Placed 387 baseball bets totaling more than $150,000

  • Stump Star: The bookie that is now loaded

• 🏀Celtics big man Kristaps Porzingis officially cleared for Game 1 of the NBA Finals

  • Stump Star: His Physical Therapist and Athletic Trainers

• ⚾️In other gambling news from the MLB, Shohei Othani is officially cleared of any wrongdoing after Ippei Mizuhara pleads guilty

  • Stump Star: The Nickname Purple Aces (Elite)

• 🏈Christian McCaffrey signs a RECORD BREAKING contract extension for NFL running backs, 2 years, $38 mill

• 🏀UConn extends Women’s Basketball Coach Geno Auriemma on a 5-year deal worth upwards of $19 million

• 🎾Tennis star Novak Djokovic withdraws from the French Open due to a knee injury

  • Casper Rudd will advance past the quarterfinals

Top Final Scores💯 

• ⚾️Braves handle Red Sox in bean town, 8-3

  • *Max Fried strikes out 13 in 7 innings on the mound

• ⚾️Orioles smash the Blue Jays north of the border, 10-1

  • *Ryan Mountcastle hits two bombs and drives in 5 runs

• ⚾️Guardians down Royals despite Witt’s big day, 8-5

  • *Bobby Witt Jr smashes two homers and drives in 4 in loss

• 🏀Connecticut Sun win their 9th straight game to start the season, defeat Mystic, 76-59

• 🏀Liberty go on the road and handle Sky, 88-75

  • *Breanna Stewart with 33 points and 14 points!

• ⚽️Portugal defeats Finland in international friendly, 4-2

  • *Bruno Fernandes scores twice in the second half

• ⚽️USA Women take care of business versus South Korea

  • *Crystal Dunn, Sophia Smith, and Lily Yohannes score for USA

Must-Watch Moments👀 

• Kendrick Perkins taking batting practice is UG-LY🫢 

• The tarp monster claims another victim👾 

• First MLB Hit, First MLB DINGER💪 

• Big Papi calls a homer from the BOOTH! Must-Hear!⚡️ 

STUMP STORY OF THE DAY✍️ 

Athlete + Being Part of the Media = Good or Bad?

Social Media has completely changed the landscape of athletes talking about basketball. Is this a good or bad thing?

We’ve reached quite an interesting time in the sports media world. Before we get into it let me try painting a picture.

Close your eyes.

Actually, never mind. That doesn’t work here. Keep your eyes open but try and picture this. Game 6 of the 2008 Finals just finished, the Celtics Big 4 finally got over the hump and beat the Lakers and Kevin Garnett just screamed “ANYTHING IS POSSIBLEEEE!”

Now a couple days go by and Kobe goes on his own podcast and dissects the series, says where the Lakers went wrong, and talks about other things going on in his life.

That right there would never happen. That was a time before the media became what it has today and we didn’t see players for months until the following season started. Now we’ve got The Draymond Green Show, The Pat Bev Podcast, Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart on a podcast, Michael Porter Jr. with his Curious Mike show, and many more.

I’m trying to figure out if this is a good or bad thing. For the fans, this is more content for them to view and it gives a different perspective from ‘sports analysts’ talking about what has happened.

This is just where we are in this social media-driven world. Players see an opportunity for them to grow their brand off the court and they are capitalizing on it. And why wouldn’t they? It makes sense.

During the Western Conference Finals, the “Inside the NBA” crew on TNT had Draymond Green as a guest host which caused a whole lot of stir among fans and players alike. Draymond Green has had a long history with Rudy Gobert and it showed. There were jabs every game and it seemed more like an attack at times than analysis.

Does it make for funny TV at times? It does. But because of this, the Timberwolves boycotted any postgame interviews with the TNT crew because of Draymond being there.

Along the same lines, Pat Bev had a soundbite after the Bucks-Pacers series where he asked an ESPN reporter if they were subscribed to his Podcast before answering their question. She said no and Pat Bev said he wouldn’t be answering any questions from her. ESPN went on to terminate any further partnership with Pat Bev on any of their shows.

Sometimes it seems like this has become more like reality TV rather than Basketball.

On the flip side JJ Redick after his career honed in on his Podcast and analyst career and has gained a widespread audience of people who enjoy hearing what he has to say about the game. I think the key here is that he is retired.

He has done such a good job that now he has become the leading candidate for the Lakers head coaching job. Coincidentally he has been doing a show with LeBron James the last few months (which has been a great watch). I’m rooting for him to get the job and see what he would be able to do with the Lakers.

But what happens to his podcast if he gets the job? Does he continue? He can’t right? Maybe he does, who knows, but this is where we are in the sports media world right now and the number of players doing something like this is only going to increase.

Just wanted to get some thoughts on paper here, let us know what you think. Do you think athletes having their own shows is a good or bad thing?

JUICE STATION🧃 

Quote of the Day

Song of the Day

Glue Guy of the Day

Defined: Glue Guy (Noun, Verb, Adj., etc.) - a person, thing, idea, or thought that holds together the larger group. Not the star, not the main character, but a hard hat and lunch pale type who knows its role. The GLUE of the group.

WHAT TO WATCH📺️ 

MLB⚾️: Some real nice Wednesday matinees for those who need something to get through the world day

• Braves @ Red Sox at 1:35 PM ET, Cards @ ‘Stros on ESPN+ at 2:10 PM ET, Brewers @ Phillies at 4:05 PM ET

• Some good night caps as well to extend the evening: Orioles @ Jays at 7:07 PM ET, Twins @ Yanks at 7:05 PM ET, and Padres @ Angels for a 9:38 PM ET first pitch on FS1 if you can’t sleep

• Full Schedule

Soccer⚽️: A TON of international friendlies and FIFA World Cup Qualifying Matches across the world including:

• Denmark vs Sweden @ 1PM ET, France vs Luxembourg at 3PM ET, and Mexico vs Uruguay at 9:00 PM ET

• San Antonio vs EL Paso in the USL Championship on CBSSN at 9PM ET

• Full Schedule

NCAA Baseball Upcoming Full Schedule: LINK