👋 Good Morning Stump Nation!

Happy Saturday. Spend some time today enjoy our podcast! We go over everything from some of the best stories around the sports world, to even debating what kind of toppings belong on a hot dog. Buckle up, it’s a wild ride!

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Links below ⬇️⬇️⬇️ 

LETS. GET. INTO. IT.  

THE DAILY STUMPED🔮

Only one rookie has been named the NBA Finals MVP, who is it?

• A. Larry Bird

• B. Bill Russel

• C. Magic Johnson

• D. Shaquille O’Neal

• E. Dwayne Wade

Answer at the bottom of The Stump!

ON THIS DAY🗓️ 

On this day in 1917…

Boston Braves First Basemen Hank Gowdy is the first active MLB player to enlist to serve in the US military during World War I.

Gowdy is also the only MLB player to serve in both the first and second World War. Thank you for your service, Mr. Gowdy!

Here’s a little history lesson on Hank: LINK

WHAT’D YOU MISS📰 

🏀 NBA Finals odds open at Celtics (-210) and Mavericks (+175) to win series!

🥊 Jake Paul vs Mike Tyson fight on July 20th has been postponed after Tyson’s doctor said that he has to recover from an ulcer flare-up

⛳️ LPGA Superstar Nelly Korda and World No. 1 misses the cut at U.S. Women’s Open after tough two days

🏈 Buffalo Bills sign Olympic Gold Medalist Gable Stevenson to a 3-year rookie deal. The olympian had never worn cleats until his workout with the Bills! Check out our STUMP STORY ⬇️ 

🏀 Sky rookie Kamilla Cardoso set to make season debut on Saturday vs the Indiana Fever and fellow rookie Caitlin Clark

⚾️ Aaron Judge says that he envisioned joining the San Francisco Giants before he re-signed with the Yankees

🏀 Detroit Pistons part ways with GM Troy Weaver. Maybe this is what the Pistons needed…

STUMP STORY OF THE DAY✍️ 

Gabe Stevenson: The Buffalo Bill

The Bills made headlines late yesterday afternoon for the signing of Gabe Stevenson, a not so typical NFL prospect.

There’s a chance you may have heard of Gabe Stevenson before, but if it was before yesterday, I’d bet it had nothing to do with football. That’s because Stevenson has not only never played professionally, he’s never played at all. That’s right, never put on shoulder pads, no football cleats, nothing.

So why then is he on an NFL roster? Well, Gabe is a big guy. So big, he’s an Olympic Gold Medal Wrestler. Not only that, he’s a two-time NCAA National Champion, and a three-time Big Ten Champion.

Gabe attended the University of Minnesota (Go Golden Gophers!) and managed to go 85-2 in his career there, the highest win percentage in Minnesota history. He is a two-time Dan Hodge Award winner, the trophy given to the best wrestler in the country, which has only happened six times in NCAA history. Gabe graduated in 2021.

So what’s he been up to? Upon graduation, Gabe started a 2-year stint with the WWE. This is not uncommon for football players, as we’ve seen The Rock, Brock Lesner, Roman Reigns, and others live both the NFL and WWE life. However, typically, these guys become pro wrestlers after their failed NFL careers. Gabe was released by the WWE earlier this May. He went off and had a try out with the Bills, and they went ahead and gave him a contract.

Stevenson will try to earn a spot on the defensive line, specifically at defensive tackle. The two sides agreed to terms on a standard three-year rookie contract. This feels like to me it is not some publicity stunt, no are the Bills just taking a flier on a guy with some size and strength. A three-year deal makes it feel like they are confident this guy can figure it out.

It’s obvious he is talented in many facets, and very good wrestlers often make very good lineman. It takes strength, flexibility, movement skills, and toughness, all traits that are consistent with highly successful wrestlers.

The Gabe Stevenson WWE → NFL transition project is officially underway. I’d love to see Stevenson out there on the field come preseason, it’s always interesting to see these kind of trials play out in real time against real competition. Good luck to Gabe, he’s got an uphill battle and he’s swimming against the current. but if anyone can do it, I’d put my money on the Olympic Gold Medalist Wrestler!

STUMP SCOREBOARD💯 

NBA🏀: Finals loading…

SOCCER⚽️: NYC FC def. SJ Earthquakes, 5-1 ; Mexico def. Bolivia, 1-0 ; Costa Rica draws Uruguay, 0-0

WNBA🏀: Sun def. Wings, 74-72 ; Dream def. Aces, 78-74

MLB⚾️: Red Sox def. Tigers, 7-3 ; Phillies def. Cardinal, 4-2 ; Blue Jays def. Pirates in 14, 5-3; FULL RESULTS

NHL🏒 : Stars def. Oilers, 3-1, move within 1 win of Finals

GOLF⛳️: Canadian Open - Ryan Fox and Robert MacIntrye tied for lead at -10, Joel Dahmen in solo second at -8, last years champ Mackenzie Hughes at -7 with a host of others ; LPGA US Open - Wichanee Meechai in solo lead at -4, Andrea Lee in solo second at -2, only 4 golfers under par

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.

THE CORE FOUR 4️⃣

ALL RISEEE! Your new MLB Home Run leader! ⚾️ 

LSU WALK-OFF! ⚾️ 

What a time for your first goal in over A YEAR! 🏒 

WALK-OFF DOUBLE TROUBLE! UNC Grand Slam Edition! ⚾️ 

STUMP STARS🌟

THE DAILY STUMPSET🤯 

Miami Barrage!

The Miami Marlins (21-37) STUMPSET the Texas Rangers (27-30, still good enough for 2nd in the AL West) 8-2! Declan Cronin got the win with 1.1 IP and 1 K, all in a good day’s work for Miami and Cronin.

Arnaldi over (6) Rublev at Roland Garros!

Straight set STUNNER at the French Open in the Round of 32 with Matteo Arnaldi defeating Andrey Rublev, 7(8)-6(6), 6-2, 6-4! Maybe a Cinderella run for Matteo in Paris!

Padres 9-run Ninth Help Propel Them to Victory over Royals!

Yup, you read that right, the Padres scored 9 runs in the ninth inning which featured not 1 HR and Jake Cronenworth driving in runs on two separate at-bats!

WHAT TO WATCH📺️ 

NBA🏀: Only 1 series left so no ball today! NHL🏒: Rangers @ Panthers (8:00 PM ET on ABC) ; SOCCER⚽️: UEFA Champions League Final - Dortmund vs Real Madrid (3:00 PM ET on CBS), 12-Game MLS Slate, US Women vs South Korea (5:00 PM ET on TNT); MLB⚾️: Tigers @ Red Sox (4:10 PM ET), Yankees @ Giants (10:05 PM ET), Diamondbacks @ Mets (4:10 PM ET); WNBA🏀: Sky @ Fever (12:00 PM ET on ESPN) ; GOLF⛳️: RBC Canadian Open (All Day on ESPN+), US Women’s Open

MLB Full Schedule: LINK

Soccer Full Schedule: LINK