🏈 International Games Revealed

Our take on the NFL's growing International schedule...

Good Morning, Stumpers!

Hey, we’re all for the NFL International series, it’s a great way to grow the game. But let’s take a look at what it could mean for the players. Yesterday we had the announcement of a title fight, some NBA action, including a return to the ECF for the Indiana Pacers and a Game Five win for the OKC Thunder. Loaded Stump for you…Let’s Dance.

Today’s Rundown

What’s in today’s edition?

  • 🏈 A Look at the International NFL Schedule

  • 🏀 ECF Returner + A Game 5 in the West

  • 🥊 Title Fight Set After Vacated Belt

  • ✏️ Glue Guy is a Lu Guy, No typo. Let that sink in…

On This Day

On This Day…

⛪️ Sunday Baseball in DC!

If you believe it, Baseball on Sunday used to be one of the more hotly debated topics in America. What was once a day of leisure and rest, Sunday was slowly turning into a day of recreation, and people weren’t happy.

On this day in 1918, Congress voted to allow Washington DC, a federal enclave, to lift the ban of baseball on Sunday. A year prior, the New York Giants (baseball) and Cincinnati Reds hosted a game on Sunday, but both managers were arrested for violating Sunday laws. Now, Sunday baseball is a staple in American summers, with games being played in the sun in front of thousands of spectators.

Today’s Trivia

🧠 Test your sports knowledge…

When was the last time the New York Knicks made it to the NBA Finals?

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Yesterday’s Trivia Answer: B. Frank Vogel! The former Pacers, Lakers, and Suns coach appeared on Late Night with David Letterman when he was in just eighth grade!

Before We Dive In…

🔍️ Stump Spotlight

NFL Abroad

🏈 The Great NFL International Debate

When news broke yesterday morning that the Minnesota Vikings will be the first team in NFL history to play back-to-back international games in different counties, it got me thinking. Is this, in general, good for players and teams?

It’s obvious that the push by the NFL to increase their football footprint globally is great for the league in a logical sense. The NFL makes, I’m sure, great money off of these type of games. The more the league spreads internationally, the more money comes in the door and the prospect of becoming an international superleague becomes more of a reality. But at the end of the day, who really runs the league? The players.

I’m no NFL player, never have been, never will. So I can’t even begin to understand the type of mental and physical toll a 17-game football season puts on a player. This mental and physical fatigue is not singular either, coaches, support staff, and others involved in the operations of a season I’m sure feel the same fatigue. So when I see teams and players are now going to be spending two weeks abroad, playing games, I start to ponder who this is really good for.

Anyone who’s ever traveled internationally can back me up here, it’s absolutely exhausting. It’s an amazing experience, but when you get back, you are wiped. So imagine having to travel all that way, play two football games, then come back and pretend like nothing happened. I don’t care if you’re the starting running back or the nutritionist, it can throw off everything single piece of you.

Is it a disadvantage for a team like the Vikings to have to play back-to-back games on international land across the pond? It absolutely is. Professional sports is all about routine, and this throws a massive wrench into any sort of normal routine that may go on during the season. One day you call Minnesota your home base, and then you’re calling Dublin home base for a week, then London for another week. Any sort of disruption like this can be detrimental.

I’m not trying to be some old NFL talking head who isn’t for the expansion of the NFL abroad, that’s actually the farthest thing from the case. I’m very much for it, the British, German, and Spanish fans that have turned up to games in the past have shown so much enthusiasm and love for the game, it’s inspiring. All I’m saying is this, there’s a limit, and it should be considered.

The Hot Stove

⚾️ Pete Rose, Shoeless Joe Jackson Among Players Reinstated by MLB

In what was an absolute shocking and historic decision, baseball commissioner Rob Manfred removed the bans of Pete Rose, “Shoeless” Joe Jackson and other deceased players from MLB’s permanently ineligible list.

Manfred released a statement yesterday basically saying that lifetime bans are lifetime, and now that these players have since passed, they are no longer banned, “it is hard to conceive of a penalty that has more deterrent effect than one that lasts a lifetime with no reprieve”. Rose, the MLBs all-time hit leader, was permanently banned in 1989, following an MLB investigation that determined the 17-time All-Star had bet on games while managing the Cincinnati Reds. Jackson, was the main star player on the Chicago White Sox 1921 team that fixed the 1919 World Series. Based on current rules, these players would be eligible as early as summer 2028 for the Hall of Fame. Rose was famous for a quote near the end of his life saying he did not want to be elected after he died. The Hall of Fame’s board voted in 1991 to not allow any player who was on the MLBs permanently ineligible list to be up for enshrinement, it was known as the “Pete Rose Rule”.

🥊 Makhachev Vacates Belt; June 29 Title Clash Set

Ilia Topuria will be making his first appearance in the UFC lightweight division, and it will be for a title belt.

The current four-time defending champion, Islam Makhachev, will vacate his belt to move up to the welterweight division to face newly crowned champ Jack Della for a second belt at a later date. In terms of the lightweight belt, Topuria will face former champion Charles Oliveira for the vacant belt at UFC 317 on June 28 in Las Vegas. Topuria’s debut in the 155 class has been extremely anticipated. He vacated his 145-pound belt earlier this year after two fights against the weight classes best, Alexander Volkanovski and Max Holloway. Topuria is the no. 2 pound for pound fighter in the world, only behind Makhachev. Get your popcorn ready, June 28 is going to be an epic night.

🏀 Pacers Advance To ECF! Thunder Up 3-2!

You know how it goes, when the Cavs and Nuggets both lose on the same night, this little NBA blip goes down here.

In the case of the Pacers win, it came down to a few things. One is that the Pacers are a really good basketball team, and they show it in the postseason. They are a very deep team and now are going to their second straight Eastern Conference Finals. As for the Cavs, D Mitch showed up as he always does, as did Mobley. Garland, Strus, and Allen however combined for 20, and that’s just not going to cut it. Pacers def. Cavs, 114-105 (IND wins series 4-1)

As for the Oklahoma City Thunder, they are just a deeper team than Denver. That is the fact of the case. The stars really cancel each other out, they will do their things, but these series always come down to the others. And Lu Dort hitting 3 fourth quarter threes where MPJ went 0/5 from three and ended with 2 points, that really is the difference, as small as it may seem. The Nuggets led in the fourth but that evaporated by a few OKC threes. They will now have to defend home court to force another Game Seven! Thunder def. Nuggets, 112-105 (OKC leads series 3-2)

⬇️ Quick Links

What To Watch

🏀 NBA Playoffs

  • TNT: Knicks @ Celtics (7:00 PM), Warriors @ Timberwolves (9:30 PM)

⚾️ Major League Baseball

  • What to Watch: Cardinals @ Phillies (1:05 PM), Brewers @ Guardians (1:10 PM), DBacks @ Giants (3:45 PM), Yankees @ Mariners (4:10 PM), Red Sox @ Tigers (6:35 PM), Royals @ Astros (8:10 PM), A’s @ Dodgers (10:10 PM), full schedule

🏒 NHL Playoffs

  • ESPN: Panthers @ Maple Leafs (7:00 PM), Oilers @ Golden Knights (9:30 PM)

⚽️ Soccer

The Moment You’ve Been Waiting For

Glue Guy OTD

Luguentz Dort

Thunder

Unreal name, unreal build. Guy was clutch last night, that’s all there is too it. Glue.

Quote OTD

“Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don’t matter, and those what matter don’t mind.”

Bernard Baruch

Cheeky word play here by Bernard.

Song OTD

Road Here Buzz

Eric Church

Good smooth country song to get you relaxed on a Hump Day morning.

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