Season 2, Episode 2. This week's episode brings back special guest Courtney Cureton to talk about the following topics:
Headlines
· Bubba Wallace finds what he believed to be a noose in his garage after confederate flags fly above and around the Talladega Racetrack in Alabama, following NASCAR’s decision to ban the confederate flag
o After an FBI investigation, they came to the conclusion that there was no hate crime and the garage pulley just happened to be shaped like a noose and that it had been there since October 2019, according to ESPN
o Wallace is the only African-American driver in NASCAR
o 3 minutes
· Pacers’ PG Malcolm Brogdon test positive for the coronavirus
o The Pacers are among the 22 teams scheduled to resume NBA play in Orlando next month
o Brogdon was averaging 16.3 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 7.1 assists per game for the Pacers before the postponement of the season
o 2.5 minutes
· Detroit Lions announce on twitter that Martha Firestone Ford will step down as principal owner of the franchise and Sheila Ford Hamp will succeed her mother as team’s principal owner and chairman
o 3 minutes
· Philadelphia Eagles’ TE Dallas Goedert was taken to the hospital on Friday night after being sucker punched at a South Dakota restaurant
o He has returned and his doing okay; suspect was arrested on Saturday
o Goedert grew up in South Dakota and went to college at South Dakota State and is entering his 3rd season in the NFL with the Eagles. He finished second on the team last season in receptions, receiving yards, and receiving touchdowns, only behind fellow tight end Zach Ertz
MLB
· MLB’s accepted return to play proposal (via ESPN)
o Number of games: 60 games
o Opening Day: Around July 24
o Spring Training: July 1 -- MLB asked the MLBPA on Monday whether players will be able to report to training in their respective cities within seven days, by July 1
o Number of teams in playoffs: 10
o Salary structure: Full pro rata, which for 60 games means that players will earn around 37% of their full-season salary as long as the truncated schedule is completed
o 4 minutes
NBA
· NBA’s accepted return to play proposal (via ESPN)
o Under the plan, 13 Western Conference teams and nine Eastern Conference teams will play eight regular-season seeding games before a possible play-in series.
o West teams
§ Los Angeles Lakers | 49-14
§ LA Clippers | 44-20
§ Denver Nuggets | 43-22
§ Utah Jazz | 41-23
§ Oklahoma City Thunder | 40-24
§ Houston Rockets | 40-24
§ Dallas Mavericks | 40-27
§ Memphis Grizzlies | 32-33
§ Portland Trail Blazers | 29-37
§ New Orleans Pelicans | 28-36
§ Sacramento Kings | 28-36
§ Phoenix Suns | 26-39
o East teams
§ Milwaukee Bucks | 53-12
§ Toronto Raptors | 46-18
§ Boston Celtics | 43-21
§ Miami Heat | 41-24
§ Indiana Pacers | 39-26
§ Philadelphia 76ers | 39-26
§ Brooklyn Nets | 30-34
§ Orlando Magic | 30-35
§ Washington Wizards | 24-40
o The play-in tournament will include the No. 8 and No. 9 teams in a conference -- if the ninth seed finishes the regular season within four games of the eighth. In that case, the No. 9 seed would need to beat the No. 8 seed twice to earn the playoff berth, while the No. 8 would need one win from the two potential games.
o After that, the NBA will start its standard 16-team, four-round postseason, with the seeding games counting for playoff standings.
o If a team determines a player is at higher risk for severe illness from COVID-19, he can be designated a "protected" player who does not have to report and will not lose salary. Additionally, a panel of three medical experts will review players' medical histories and could determine if a player is high-risk. In that case, he will be "excused" and not docked salary.
o However, if a player doesn't fall into either criteria and still declines to go, he will lose a corresponding number of game checks. For example, a player making $10 million per year will lose roughly $108,000 per game missed for up to 14 games. There will be no additional punishment and teams will also be allowed to replace these players to have a full roster in Orlando.
o 5 minutes
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