Weekend Warriors

If you open this and are shocked, we totally understand!

Author

Stomping Ground Sports
August 17, 2024

Welcome to the weekend, Stump Nation! From a packed weekend in football to a busy weekend in futbol, we've got you covered. If you’re confused because this looks different, thanks for noticing. We’ve been working hard to make this newsletter the best it could possibly be, but also different from the rest. We’ll keep the feedback form active, so don’t be afraid to let us know what you think!

The Story We Can’t Stop Talking About

💸 Trouble In Paradise: Miami U NIL 🌴 

As NIL becomes a bigger and bigger thing in college sports and players continue to make money and some get paid large sums of money, the need for some real laws surrounding it becomes even more important.

Miami University (FL) has become one of the most dominant NIL Athletic Programs in the country. Yesterday, John Ruiz, once dubbed as “Miami’s NIL King” is in deep water with his company, Life Wallet. Specifically, between March and June, the company has lost over $211 million. Now, the company is on the verge is closing its doors.

Ruiz has spent millions on NIL deals for Miami in recent years as well as committed multi-millions of dollars in a push for a new stadium.

LifeWallet is an insurance claims company, but maybe these athletes should have some insurance on their LifeWallet NIL deals. The company was projected to make $963 million in net revenue last year, its total revenue was $7.7 million.

The company also said it was subpoenaed last night by the Department of Justice. The company is already being investigated by the SEC. Ruiz was on the Forbes’ list of billionaires in 2023 with a net worth of $1.5 billion. Regrettably, he is no longer on that list.

So what happens now? I really wish I could tell you. If he goes bankrupt, what happens to all those deals? What do the athletes do? Who’s to know? This story certainly underscores the importance of protecting athletes who go into NIL deals with these individuals. There is no telling what is going to happen.

Today’s Trivia🧠

 

Which of these famous golfers have never won the PGA Tour Playoff Championship?

  • A. Tiger Woods

  • B. Rory McIlroy

  • C. Jordan Spieth

  • D. Bryson DeChambeau

  • E. Dustin Johnson

(answer at the bottom of the Stump!)

On This Day…

In 1967, one of the best young players in baseball, Tony Conigliaro of the Boston Red Sox, was hit in the eye by a fastball from Angels pitcher Jack Hamilton at Fenway Park. At the time, Conigliaro was the youngest hitter in AL history to reach 100 career home runs.

Injuries included a fractured jaw, severe eye damage, and a dislocated jaw. Despite being told he could never play again, Tony worked to make it back. About two years later, Tony made his MLB comeback, hitting a walk-off home run in the 10th inning.

Now THIS is Cool

Talking Points

⛳️ Day Two From St. Jude’s Championship

Some LOW scorecards shook up the leaderboard a little going into the weekend, here’s where we stand:

Top 5: T(1): Denny McCarthy / Hideki Matsuyama (-11), 3rd: Sam Burns (-10), 4th: Scottie Scheffler (-9), T(5): Nick Dunlap / Justin Rose (-8)

Lurking In The Back: Victor Hovland (-7), Robby MacIntyre (-7), Will Zalatoris (-6)

Maybe Next Week Boys: Max Homa (+7), Jordan Spieth (+5), Rory (+1)

The leaders will tee off at 12:46 tomorrow afternoon, look for guys like Victor Hovland, Scottie Scheffler, and Sam Burns to take advantage of the late start!

⚽️ English Premier League Is Off And Running

With Manchester United’s win yesterday, the 2024-2025 Premier League season is officially underway. Here at the Stump, we’re big Newcastle United fans. Go Magpies! Let’s take a look at the 2024 season!

2023 Winner: Manchester City

Who Got Promoted: Southampton, Leicester City, Ipswich Town

Who Got Relegated: Luton Town, Burnley, Sheffield United

2024 Favorites: Man City +150, Arsenal +165, Liverpool +1600, Chelsea (+1600)


🏈 WR Holdouts in the NFC

We’ve got two guys who seem to be making headlines almost every single day. The Dallas Cowboys’ Ceedee Lamb and San Francisco 49er Brandon Aiyuk.

They both are waiting for a contract that pleases them and neither of them are ready to put pen to paper.

The Cowboys have offered Lamb slightly under $33M a year. Currently, Vikings WR Justin Jefferson is the highest-paid receiver at $35M a year. Gotta wonder how much more Ceedee could possibly get.

A different situation in San Francisco. Brandon Aiyuk seems to want out of San Fran but every day the Niners seem to flip-flop on whether or not he’s THEIR GUY.

The latest is this. Aiyuk has a preference of being traded to Pittsburgh or Washington. Niners GM John Lynch on the other hand says that the team ‘Feels the urgency; to keep him. We’ll see what happens!

Worth Your Time

💯 Full Scoreboards: MLB, Soccer, PGA, NFL, WNBA

What’s On TV Today

*All times are ET*

⚾️ Mariners @ Pirates (1:05 PM on MLBN), Cards @ Brewers / Dodgers @ Cardinals (7:15 PM on FOX), Braves @ Angels (9:38 PM on MLBN), full schedule
🏈 Bears @ Bengals (1:00 PM), Lions @ Chiefs (4:00 PM ET), Bills @ Steelers (7:00 PM), All Games on NFL Network, full schedule
🏀 WNBA: Lynx @ Mystics (2:00 PM), Liberty @ Aces (4:00), Sky @ Sparks (5:00 PM)
⚽️ English Premier League (NBC), Spanish LALIGA (ESPN+), French Ligue 1
⛳️ Round 3 from the St. Jude Championship (All day, ESPN+ & Golf Channel)

🎙️Song OTD🎙️ 

Cold Beer Calling My Name

Jamerson Rodgers, Luke Combs

Is this a basic pull because it’s Saturday? Maybe. But it’s a good tune. Whether you drink or not, it’s a tune that’ll have you enjoying the summer evening.

🗣️ Quote OTD🗣️ 

“I believe nicotine plus caffeine equals protein.”

John Daly

If we have any doctors out there who subscribe to this.. please let us know if this is true or not.

❗️Glue Guy OTD❗️ 

Harry Snyder

Founder of In-N-Out, Drive Thru

I mean the guy invented the drive thru, let alone inventing In-N-Out. The drive thru is a game changer for the consumer. He was glue before it was cool.

Trivia Answer: D. Bryson DeChambeau! The other 4 have all won PGA Tour Championships in their career. Tiger won the inaugural tournament in 2002, and Rory has won it twice!

Let us know what you thought of today’s newsletter…