Good Morning, Stumpers!

Are the Houston Rockets suddenly good?!? We’ll go over that and a whole lot more today. We’ve got trade news out of Sacramento, a great ESPN Double Header today, and some Chuck Pagano news in Baltimore. A big mash of sports news today! To top it all off, we’ve got a quote from Yogi Berra! What more could you want? Let’s STUMP.

Today’s Rundown

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

• ⚾️ Quote OTD from Yogi Berra today! A good one!

• 🏀 We’ve got trade news out of Sacramento, could their star be gone?

• 🏈 Chuck Pagano returns to coaching! Familiar role at a familiar spot!

• 🏀 How good are these Houston Rockets?

On This Day

On this day…

⚾️ The Baseball HOF

We’re going back back back for this one! On This Day in good old 1936, the first batch of MLB Greats were inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame! The first 5 inducted were…

• Babe Ruth

• Ty Cobb

• Honus Wagner

• Christy Mathewson

• Walter Johnson

Cooperstown would never be the same!

Trivia Time

🧠 Test your sports knowledge…

Yesterday’s Trivia Answer: (D): New Orleans, LA! A rewind to Super Bowl VI to find the coldest Super Bowl in history! It was 39 degrees!

Before We Dive In…

👀 Here’s Yesterday’s MUST-See’s

• ⛳️ Even on a simulator these shots look ELITE!

• 🏀 MAN DOWN! MAN DOWN!

• 🏀 Portland is on a STUMPSET MARATHON! 5 W’s in Last 6!

• 👑 We’ve got Father-Son Warmup Drills!

The Hot Stove

NBA Trade Rumor

🏀 Kings Open to Trading De’Aaron Fox

What to know: It’s a tough situation when you are not a bottom-of-the-road team but don’t seem to be a contender either. What do you do? The Kings seem to think it’s time to make a change.

De’Aaron Fox has been synonymous with Sacramento for his entire tenure in the NBA. He was the 5th overall in the 2017 NBA Draft, despite being a star, things just haven’t been able to click for the Kings. They have made the playoffs once in this era and it was in the 2022-23 season when they were the 3 seed. This was the year they got matched up with Golden State in the first round, and Steph dropped a historic 50 PIECE in Game 7.

Outside of that one appearance, things haven’t gone too well. This being said, De’Aaron Fox is a star! And on the right team, he could be an absolute difference maker. He has said that he would like to go to the Spurs, but they have just opened up to possible suitors, we will see what happens.

NBA Underdog

🏀 The Houston Rockets are RED HOT!

What to know: Last night the Rockets went into Atlanta and got a narrow win over the Hawks. This was their fourth straight win, but the wins they have gotten recently are eye-opening!

It’s official, the Houston Rockets are a good basketball team. They have a strong young core and a good head coach, they have come a long way from when they were the 14th seed in the West just two seasons ago with a 22-60 record.

After Ime Udoka’s departure from Boston, people weren’t sure what would happen with him in Houston. The Rockets are 32-14 and are the 2-Seed in the West right now. Their last 4 wins are vs CLE, @ CLE, @ BOS, and now @ ATL. They knocked off the two best teams in the East on back-to-back nights!

How are they doing this? They have a versatile squad with Alperen Sengun down low, who can also run the offense if needed, and then dynamic playmakers around him in Jalen Green, and Amen Thompson. Veteran leadership of Fred VanVleet and Dillon Brooks rounds out there starting 5.

Just keep an eye out on this Houston team, they might F around and win a playoff series!

NFL Coaching News

🏈 Chuck Pagano Unretires to Join Ravens as Senior Secondary Coach

What to know: Chuck Pagano is getting back on the saddle! Taking his talents from the Pat Mcafee Show to the Baltimore Ravens as a Senior Secondary Coach

Chuck Pagano is back in business! He was the Secondary Coach for the Baltimore Ravens from 2008-1010, he was promoted to their Defensive Coordinator in 2011 and then went on to get his Head Coaching gig with the Colts. He is now back with the Ravens as a Senior Secondary Coach.

Coach Harbaugh commented on this addition saying, “It is exciting to add coach Chuck Pagano to our defensive staff and continue to develop and grow our young and talented secondary“. If this isn’t reinforcements, I don’t know what is. This guy has forgotten more football than most people will ever know!

Although it all ends on the field, little moves like this do cause large ripple effects that can lead to success!

Quick Hitters

• 🏈 Mike McCarthy looking to Coach in 2026!

• 🏀 Brittney Griner signs 1-year deal with the Dream!

• 🏈 Kingsbury opts to stay with Commanders, doesn’t pursue Saints job!

• ⚾️ Dodgers sign Kirby Yates to 1-year deal!

What We’re Watching

🏀 ESPN Double Header in the NBA:

• Nuggets @ Knicks (7:30 PM ET) - We kick it off with an East vs West showdown! Both of these teams have had some good stretches in January, and hope to close the month with a bang!

• Thunder @ Warriors (10:00 PM ET) - The nightcap features the 37-8 Thunder and the 22-23 Warriors. OKC still has a firm grasp on the 1-Seed in the West. They are beating teams the way Golden State used to…dominantly!

🏒 We’ve got a TNT Double Header in the NHL!

• Flyers @ Devils (7:00 PM ET), followed by Penguins @ UTAH (9:30 PM ET)

🏀 College Basketball ranked action:

• Men’s: (1) Auburn @ LSU (7:00 PM ET), DePaul @ (25) UConn (8:00 PM ET), (4) Alabama @ (14) Miss St (9:00 PM ET)

• Women’s: (14) Maryland @ Penn State (6:00 PM ET), (6) UConn @ DePaul (7:00 PM ET)

⚽️ Champions League Soccer

• Massive massive slate for Champions League Soccer. If you can think of any 3 teams that casual soccer fans would know, well they’re playing today!

  • PSV vs Liverpool (3:00 PM ET), Man City vs Club Brugge (3:00 PM ET), Barcelona vs Atalanta (3:00 PM ET), Brest vs Real Madrid (3:00 PM ET)

The Moment You’ve Been Waiting For

Can’t thank you enough for sticking to the end of this thing we call The Daily Stump. If you know anybody who might want this bit of daily juice in their life, send them this link, it would go a long way. Appreciate the hell out of you all!

Trees may get chopped. Stumps hold strong 🌴