Good Morning, Stumpers!

The top two teams in the East gave us one of the best games of the NBA regular season last night, as both teams had their time to shine. While that was going on in the NBA, the NCAA began investigating a pair of Fresno State men’s basketball players for betting on their own games. And if that wasn’t enough, some Joel Embiid news broke yesterday and we’re left feeling bad for one person: Tyrese Maxey. Let’s get Stumpin’!

Today’s Rundown

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

• 🏀 Cavs Light in Up in Epic Comeback in Boston

• ♠️ Fresno State did NOT learn from Jontay Porter

• 😥 Poor Tyrese Maxey…

• 🥳 PARTY ROCKERS IN THE HOUSE TONIGHT

On This Day

On This Day…

🤝 Mantle Calls it a Career

If you know anything about the history of the New York Yankees, you’ve probably heard of the great Mickey Mantle. But it was on this day in 1969 that the great Mantle decided it was time to hang it up after dealing with persistent knee injuries.

Mantle finished his 19-year career with 536 home runs and a .298 batting average. Mantle was introduced into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1974 and is widely considered as one of the greatest players and hitters of the history of the game.

🧠 Test your sports knowledge…

Yesterday’s Trivia Answer: (D) New York Knicks! They won the first NBA game in the history of the league! One of the original NBA squads…

Before We Dive In…

👀 Here’s Yesterday’s MUST-See’s

• 💥 Ohtani hits homer in first spring at-bat

• 🥱 This Tatum quote aged QUITE poorly

• 🤯 HOLY MOLY BAT FLIP! COLLEGE BASEBALL IS SOOOO BACK

• 🏀 This Knicks - Grizz ending is WILD

The Hot Stove

NBA

🏀 Tale of Two Halves in Boston

What to know: I’m going to start this by listing some stats that may sway your thoughts on who may have won the Cavs - Celtics game last night:

• The Celtics began the game on a 25-3

• Jayson Tatum finished with 46 points, 16 rebounds, and 9 assists

• Jaylen Brown added 37 points and 5 rebounds

Yep, you guessed right, the Cleveland Cavs won. When the Celtics reached a 25-3 lead, the camera panned over to Jayson Tatum as he walked to the bench during a Cavs timeout. Now, I’m not the best lip reader, but it was pretty obvious he said “Get the f*** outta here, man”, obviously insinuating that this Cavs team was not on the same level as them.

Well, Donovan Mitchell answered with a “hold my beer” to all of Boston. Mitchell exploded for 41 points, including 12 fourth quarter points, to bring the Cavs all the way back from the early deficit. Despite the early deficit, the Cavs went into halftime only down 10, a remarkable feat given how atrocious Cleveland began the game. Mitchell stayed hot in the 3rd quarter, bringing the game to 3 points. The Cavs defense took over in the fourth, holding the Celtics to just 18 points, enough for the Cavs to win by 7, 123-116.

Sure, the Celtics were not at full strength with Porzingis out, but this was a huge moral boost for a Cavs team that was taken out of the playoffs 4-1 by the same Celtics squad last season. One thing I’ve grown to love about the NBA season this year is that the game is never really over. Even a 22-point lead can disappear in what feels like an instant.

Expect these two squads to have an epic battle later this year.

College Basketball

🫠 If You’re Going to Bet, Don’t Bet Against Yourself

What to know: The world of sports betting has taken over in college sports, and there’s been a steady increase in players getting in trouble for betting. But this, this is a first.

Two Fresno State basketball players are currently under investigation for participating in daily fantasy contests based on their own performances. That’s not great.

Junior forward Mykell Robinson and associates bet and entered daily fantasy sports contests involving Fresno State games in which he played. The wages entered included the UNDER on Robinson’s points and rebounds.

THE UNDER?? That’s brutal. This is some Jontay Porter stuff. If you’re going to bet on yourself, at least bet on your overs, man. Have a little faith in yourself. I mean, that’s just bad stuff. You’re really shaving points at that point in the whole situation.

Before their most recent game against Air Force, in which Robinson and his associate Jalen Weaver were held out, they were two of the team’s three highest scorers. Weaver was caught betting $50 on his points total. He risked $50 that he would score more than 11 points in their game against New Mexico. He finished the game with 13. Winner Winner! At least this guy had the guts to bet on his over.

I don’t really know how to feel about this. If you bet on your over, at least you’re betting on yourself to do well, but the under is just brutal. You’re playing bad on purpose at that point. That’s where I draw the line.

NBA

😢 People I’m Sad For: Tyrese Maxey

What to know: The news broke yesterday that 76ers star Joel Embiid will miss the remainder of the regular season as he and the team continue to look for a long-term solution for a left knee that has bothered him all season.

There are questions about whether or not Embiid will ever step on the court again, as injuries have hampered his whole career. Doctors and team officials thought that his knee would get used to playing and settle in to the demands of an NBA season, but just the opposite has happened. Embiid experienced the worst knee pain and swelling as the season progressed, leading to his eventual shut down.

While Embiid nurses his injury, the guy I really feel bad for is Tyrese Maxey. The guy is an absolute junk yard dawg and leaves it out on the court every single night. He wears his heart on his sleeve, plays with insane emotion, and looks mentally and physically drained at the end of every ball game. He’s truly an elite talent, and now he’s left to fend for himself on a pretty lackluster 76ers roster who seems unmotivated and without purpose.

Yeah, I said it. And I’m aware this team has Paul George. I don’t care. He may be the most unmotivated of them all. Podcast P has been a rough add all year long, and honestly just looks uninterested. If I were Maxey, I’d be pissed. I’d imagine his time in Philly has got to be limited.

I just don’t really know where this franchise goes moving forward. They have two guys on massive contracts, with a huge one for Maxey coming down the pipe. One guy is hurt and the other looks like he’d rather be talking into a mic. I don’t know how they handle this mess, but something, or someone, has got to change.

Quick Hitters

• 🏈 Auburns head football coach diagnosed with cancer

• 🤝 Stafford staying with Rams

• 🤔 Giants discussing adding QB Aaron Rodgers

• 🥊 MASSIVE boxing card coming to MSG in May

What We’re Watching

🏀 One televised game on ABC!

• ABC: Warriors @ 76ers (8:30 PM)

• More to watch: Kings @ Rockets (8:00 PM), Spurs @ Grizzlies (8:00 PM), Bucks @ Mavs (8:30 PM)

🏒 3-televised games, including one Stadium Series game!

• Predators @ Islanders (12:30 PM on NHL Net), Bruins @ Penguins (3:00 PM on ABC), Red Wings @ Blue Jackets (6:00 PM live from Ohio Stadium)

⚾️ Spring Training Schedule:

• Astros @ Yanks (1:05 PM), Twins @ Red Sox (1:05 PM), Mets @ Rays (1:05 PM), Blue Jays @ Braves (1:05 PM), Giants @ Dodgers (3:05 PM), White Sox @ Mariners (3:10 PM), Cubs @ Royals (8:05 PM), full schedule

🏀 College Basketball ranked action:

• Men’s: (13) Clemson @ Virginia (12:00 PM on ESPN2), (1) Auburn @ (17) Kentucky (1:00 PM on ABC), (10) Texas Tech @ Kansas (2:00 PM on ESPN), Seton Hall @ (7) St. John’s (2:15 PM on CBS), (6) Alabama vs (5) Tennessee (4:00 PM on ESPN), (14) Missouri @ Vanderbilt (6:00 PM on SECN), Florida State vs (2) Duke (7:00 PM on ACCN), (12) Texas A&M vs (3) Florida (8:30 PM on SECN), (22) Arizona vs (9) Iowa State (9:00 PM on ESPN)

• Women’s: (4) USC vs (2) UCLA (9:00 PM on FOX)

⚽️ International Futbol!

• English FA Cup: Man City vs Plymouth Argyle (12:45 PM)

• German Bundesliga: Frankfurt vs Bayer Leverkusen (9:30 PM)

• LALIGA: Atletico vs Athletic (3:00 PM)

• MLS: Charlotte vs Atlanta (2:15 PM on FOX) and a HOST of non televised games

• Serie A: Napoli vs Inter Milan (12:00 PM)

⛳️ Day three of the Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches, live from PGA National in Palm Beach Gardens, FL. Here’s the leaderboard…

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 🌴