Hooked on Sports

In today’s podcast:

John discusses key developments in all the sports leagues today.

Why the Ben Simmons trade proved to be a disaster for the Brooklyn Nets and why it underscores a bigger organizational problem for the franchise.

Why the Philadelphia 76ers haven’t impressed him yet as they appear to face the Miami Heat in the 2nd round in the NBA playoffs, and who is under the most pressure to elevate their game in a potential Sixers-Heat series.

The Milwaukee Bucks’ performance over the weekend with respect to team culture is why they’re the most trusted team in the Eastern Conference.

The Denver Nuggets’ championship dream was dead all along, and the Golden State Warriors should be a favorite to win a title this season.

John gives three NFL draft takes, one each on the wide receiver market in the draft, who should trade up to get one of the “Big Four” wideouts available this year, why the Seattle Seahawks should trade up for a second first round pick, and why the Dallas Cowboys should trade out of the first round.

Who has been the most disappointing team in the National Hockey League this year, and who might be the scariest team to play in the Stanley Cup playoffs?

There are lots of baseball news to discuss too, about umpire Angel Hernandez, Miguel Cabrera’s 3,000th hit, why the best teams in baseball are the best, how invaluable Byron Buxton is to the Minnesota Twins, and more.

In this week's podcast:

John discusses why star wide receiver Deebo Samuel publicly asking for a trade is a lose-lose situation for the San Francisco 49ers, why Matthew Stafford and Cooper Kupp showing up for L.A. Rams' voluntary team workouts says everything about the culture general manager Les Snead and head coach Sean McVay have put together since arriving in L.A. and what it means for the Rams as they look to repeat as Super Bowl champions, and why the Giants shouldn't panic about the idea of drafting Kayvon Thibodeaux with one of their two first round picks.

Plus, John says that although the Philadephia 76ers have a commanding 3-0 series lead vs. the Toronto Raptors, a needed development for the teams' championship hopes hasn't come to frution yet as they appear headed for a matchup with the Miami Heat in the 2nd round of the Eastern Conference playoffs. Then, he discusses the injuries to Kris Middleton, Devin Booker, and Luka Doncic and how they've impacted the first round so far.

Finally, John discusses why the Rockies have surprised everybody so far and the Mets' feel in comparison from previous years, and the legacy of Miguel Cabrera as he closes on his 3,000th hit.

In this week's podcast:

John discusses the play-in victories for the Brooklyn Nets and Minnesota Timberwolves and how they relate to their first round matchups in the NBA playoffs vs. the Boston Celtics and Memphis Grizzlies, respectively. Then, he reveals who he has winning each of the first round playoff series, and could the Eastern Conference be voiltaile this year in the playoffs? And can anyone defeat the Phoenix Suns in a best-of-seven series in the Western Conference playoffs?

Other topics: Scottie Scheffler was the No. 1 golfer in the world going into the Masters last week, and he held that title up in winning his first major title, there are some surprises in baseball this past week with the likes of Steven Kwan's electric debut and the Mets' starting pitching holding firm without their ace Jacob deGrom and the Rockies bullpen the reason they are 4-1.

Then, he dives into football topics with another layer in the Washington Commanders investigation into owner Dan Snyder, the Raiders extending Derek Carr, and how several teams, like the Saints, Chiefs, and Giants, can win this year's draft.

In this week's podcast episode:

John discusses how Kansas overcame history to win a championship in this year's NCAA Tournament, defeating North Carolina in one of the most dramatic Final Four games ever. How will North Carolina recover from their devastating loss to the Jayhawks? Then, he offically locks in his picks for the 2022 MLB season: Every team's win-loss record, awards, and the 2022 World Series pick. The Eagles and Saints pulled off a huge trade of draft picks that shook up this year's draft (as well as next year's). And how will the Lakers recover from one of the most disappointing seasons in NBA history after they were officially eliminated from postseason contention following a loss on Tuesday night vs. the Suns? 

In this week's podcast:

John underscores how exciting this year's NCAA Men's Final Four will be with ACC archrivals North Carolina and Duke facing off in the Final Four semifinal matchup on Saturday night. This is the first time the two teams have ever played head to head in the NCAA tournament, in Mike Krzyzewski's last season as coach and in Hubert Davis' first. Also noted are the paths that Villanova and Kansas took to get to the Final Four as they play in the other semifinal at the Superdome in New Orleans. We also give a tribute to the historic run that 15th seeded St. Peter's made to the Elite Eight. 

Then, John discusses what went wrong in the DeShaun Watson introductory press conference in Cleveland for the Browns on Friday and how the Chiefs' future isn't completely hopeless with Tyreek Hill no longer on the team. Then, he discusses the NBA races and two topics in baseball with the return of Albert Pujols for St. Louis to play his final season with the Cardinals and the Mets' dominant duo of aces in Jacob deGrom and Max Scherzer taking the hill on Sunday in spring training down in Port St. Lucie and how that factors into the balance of power in the National League in the 2022 season.

In today's podcast:

The NFL QB market appears to have settled down after a couple of dramatic trades sent DeShaun Watson from the Houston Texans to the Cleveland Browns and Matt Ryan from the Atlanta Falcons to the Indianapolis Colts, while the Kansas City Chiefs dealt six-time Pro Bowl wideout Tyreek Hill to the Miami Dolphins in exchange for five draft picks and the Green Bay Packers traded All Pro Davante Adams to the Las Vegas Raiders. So what will the balance of power be like in both the AFC and NFC at this point of the offseason with a month to prepare for the draft? Also, John evaluates the notion that the New York Giants might benefit from having a few teams desperate to land a QB in the draft, with the 5th & 7th overall picks and several QB-needy teams drafting directly behind them.

Then, with two weeks left before Opening Day, free agency became settled with much of the high quality talent available off the board, so who were the winners and losers of the past week in baseball? Also, how will St. Peters' historic run to the Sweet 16 be remembered in college basketball history? And will Kentucky recover from their humiliating defeat? And was the Arizona-TCU game on Sunday night the best game of the tournament so far? And will tomorrow night's game against Texas Tech be Coach K's last game? All those answers and more are on tap on today's podcast.

In today's podcast:

John goes over all the significant MLB and NFL free agent developments over the last few days, makes his official predictions for the 2022 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament and what went down the last couple of nights on the finale of "The Bachelor."

In today's podcast,

The MLB lockout mercilessly came to an end after 99 days following a new collective bargaining agreement on Thursday in which the players made significant financial gains, including a large pre-arbitration pool, higher minimum salaries, and a higher competitive balance tax, and the introduction of the universal DH, the banning of the shift, and a 12-team expanded postseason. This also triggered the start of another free agency frenzy in which several key moves have been made since the end of the lockout, including future Hall of Fame pitcher Clayton Kershaw returning to the Dodgers on a 1-year deal, the Giants striking a deal with Carlos Rodon on a 2-year, $44 million deal to solidify the rotation in San Francisco, and the Toronto Blue Jays bringing in starter Yusei Kikuchi on a 3-year, $36 million contract to shore up their rotation ahead of camps opening up on Sunday.

Also, the advent of this season's NFL free agency period brought about major trades and news across the NFL every day this past week, including the suspension of Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Calvin Ridley for the 2022 season for illegally gambling on NFL games, the return of Aaron Rodgers to the Green Bay Packers, Russell Wilson traded to the Broncos for a host of high draft picks back to Seattle, the Indianapolis Colts moving Carson Wentz to the Washington Commanders, the Chicago Bears trading star linebacker Khalil Mack to the Los Angeles Chargers, DeShaun Watson cleared of criminal activity following a year of investigation, and the Dallas Cowboys trading star wideout Amari Cooper to the Cleveland Browns to clear salary cap space.

In today's podcast:

John talks about how the delay of Opening Day in baseball after a failure to reach a collective bargainning agreement is a collective failure of all parties involved, from owners, league commissioner Rob Manfred, and the players. He also discusses Ja Morant's budding greatness, the Lakers' mess, how James Harden has added a much-needed dynamic for the Philadelphia 76ers that they didn't have with Ben Simmons, why Villanova once again proved themselves to be the team to beat in the Big East tournament, why Kansas (once again) can't be trusted in the Big Dance, Gonzaga's redemption tour is real, and around the NFL, why Aaron Rodgers should ask for a blank check from the Packers, why the Raiders should trade Derek Carr this offseason and which teams should ask for him, and the Kyler Murray drama in Arizona and the late breaking news of contract extensions of head coach Kliff Kingsbury and general manager Steve Keim through the 2027 season.

In today's podcast:

John discusses two of the biggest trades of the past NBA trade deadline, such as the Brooklyn Nets sending James Harden to the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for a package that included Ben Simmons & Seth Curry,  and a six-player blockbuster trade between the Sacramento Kings and Indiana Pacers that sent Domantas Sabonis to Sacramento and Tyrese Haliburton to Indiana. Also, in perhaps the most exciting night of the NBA regular season to date, the Nets overcame a 28-point deficit to defeat the periled Knicks at Madison Square Garden without stars Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant, LeBron James took over for the Lakers in a fourth quarter comeback victory against the Jazz, and Monte Morris drained a 3-point buzzer beater for the Denver Nuggets to sink the Golden State Warriors on the road. John explains why the Knicks should NOT fire head coach Tom Thibodeau and why Nikola Jokic is in the MVP discussion.

Then, he discusses the balance of power in the Big East, Big 12, and ACC conferences in basketball as tournament season heats up, and why Villanova is the team to the beat in the Big East, and why there are three teams in the Big 12 that should seriously consider national championship aspirations. Plus, John talks about the report that Duke's athletic department wanted to hire Harvard head coach Tommy Amaker to succeed Mike Krzyzewski at Duke and why it says something about Jon Scheyer as he prepares to coach Duke next season. Finally, he discusses why the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing have proven to be a disaster, especially both the living conditions for the athletes and the International Olympic Committee's handling of Russian figure skater Kamila Velieva's failed drug test and how it relates to Russia's state-sponsored drug program.