News: Axios Sports: New recruiting era — Rodgers saga

Wednesday, June 2, 2021

Axios Sports: New recruiting era — Rodgers saga — Lou Gehrig Day

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Axios Sports

By Kendall Baker ·Jun 02, 2021

👋 Good morning! Already Hump Day! Gotta love short workweeks.

🏀 Stat du jour: How good was Damian Lillard last night? He became the first player in NBA history with 50 points, 10 assists and 10 threes in a game.

Today's word count: 2,049 words (8 minutes).

Let's sports...

1 big thing: 🎓 A new era of college recruiting

A map with arrows pointing to different parts of the country

Illustration: Lazaro Gamio/Axios

After more than a year of being banned from meeting with prospects face-to-face, college coaches were given the green light on Monday to return to the recruiting trail. But during their time away, the landscape completely changed.

The state of play: A new rule that allows all athletes to transfer once and be immediately eligible has fundamentally altered the job of a recruiter, while making transfers more valuable and high schoolers less sought-after.

Football and basketball programs have started building out college scouting departments in addition to their high school recruiting operations. And the transfer portal has made it easier than ever to manage the transfer process.
Transfers are known commodities who can't leave again via transfer, while high schoolers are simply a bigger risk. It's unknown how well they'll adapt to college, and there's always the looming threat of them transferring themselves.

What they're saying: One top-tier basketball coach told ESPN that they will no longer recruit high school players, opting instead to live in the transfer portal. "We're like the NBA. We can build through free agency or through the draft. We'll take the surer thing."

"Less and less high school kids are going to get recruited," Memphis football coach Ryan Silverfield told CBS Sports.
"It's not [about] developing players anymore," Todd Berry, executive director of the American Football Coaches Association, told SI. "It's about assimilating a team for next year that can win."

The backdrop: This comes at a brutal time for high school athletes, many of whom lost entire seasons to the pandemic. Now, they face a situation where they're no longer the priority for some programs.

In related news ... Georgia football landed two of the nation's best transfers in the span on 20 minutes on Tuesday.

2. 🏈 Unwinding the Rodgers saga

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

Aaron Rodgers reportedly wants out of Green Bay, but it's still hard to imagine he'll be playing elsewhere when the season begins in 99 days, Axios' Jeff Tracy writes.

Why it matters: If Rodgers is moved, he'd become the first reigning NFL MVP to be traded in the season following his award. Some believe this is a distinct possibility, while others can't fathom it.
Driving the news: The latest buzz is that Packers GM Brian Gutekunst has no intention of trading his 37-year-old QB. But the way this offseason has gone, the narrative could change by next week.

Timeline: The saga began on Jan. 24 after the Packers lost to the Bucs in the NFC title game in frustrating fashion (kicking a field goal down eight with 2:09 left). After the game, Rodgers said his future was "uncertain."

February–April: Rodgers fever is at full tilt. He's named MVP, announces he's engaged to actress Shailene Woodley and guest hosts "Jeopardy!" for two weeks.
April 29: On draft day, ESPN's Adam Schefter drops a bombshell report — which was more an accumulation of information than breaking news — that Rodgers wants out of Green Bay.
May 5: Multiple reports surface suggesting that Rodgers won't play for the Packers as long as Gutekunst remains GM.
May 12–15: The Packers sign QBs Blake Bortles and Kurt Benkert, who along with 2020 first-rounder Jordan Love give them a contingency plan should Rodgers leave.
May 24: Rodgers skips voluntary OTAs while vacationing in Hawaii. He appears on Kenny Mayne's final episode of SportsCenter, where he reiterates that his future is up in the air while praising just about everyone in the organization — except the front office.

The big picture: All this gossip has made it hard to step away and remind ourselves how unprecedented all of this is. QBs of Rodgers' caliber rarely end up in this situation, let alone actually get traded.

Free agency: Tom Brady (at 42), Peyton Manning (35) and Philip Rivers (38) made late-career moves away from the teams that defined them, but did so as free agents. Rodgers won't be a free agent until after the 2023 season, when he'll be 40.
Never left: Drew Brees retired a Saint after 15 seasons in New Orleans, while Ben Roethlisberger, Russell Wilson and Matt Ryan remain with the teams that drafted them.
Mutual split: Matthew Stafford might be Rodgers' best comparison, as he requested — and was granted — a trade in January. But in his case, even the Lions understood the decision after years of losing. Rodgers is on a talented, winning team, so there's a different vibe.

The bottom line: Maybe Rodgers reports on July 27, has another epic season and this all becomes a strange footnote in a strange year. But until a resolution is reached, all eyes are on Titletown.

3. 🏀 NBA playoffs: Lakers lose, Nets advance

Photo: Christian Petersen/Getty Images

Suns 115, Lakers 85: With Anthony Davis sidelined, the Suns embarrassed the Lakers to take a 3-2 series lead and put L.A.'s repeat title hopes on life support. "We got our ass kicked," said LeBron James (24-7-5).

What they're saying: "There's got to be a meeting of the minds after a game like this. I mean, this might be the worst game I've seen in Laker history," said Hall of Famer James Worthy.

Photo: Matthew Stockman/Getty Images

Nuggets 147, Trail Blazers 140 (2OT): Damian Lillard had 55 points and a playoff-record 12 threes in a superhuman performance that had NBA players in awe. But Portland still lost to fall into a 3-2 series hole.

🎥 Watch: Lillard's historic, jaw-dropping night in one video ... Austin Rivers thanking the basketball gods after he misses a three.

Photo: Sarah Stier/Getty Images

Nets 123, Celtics 109: James Harden (34-10-10) had his first playoff triple-double and Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving added 49 points to lead Brooklyn to a 4-1 series win. Next up: Nets vs. Bucks. Can't wait.

Wild stat: Durant, Harden and Irving combined for 85.2 points per game in the series, the most by any trio in NBA history.

📆 Tonight ... Wizards at 76ers, 7pm ET (PHI leads 3-1); Hawks at Knicks, 7:30pm (ATL leads 3-1); Grizzlies at Jazz, 9:30pm (UTA leads 3-1); Mavericks at Clippers, 10pm (Tied 2-2)

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4. ⚾️ Today is Lou Gehrig Day

Photo: Stanley Weston/Getty Images

Today is MLB's inaugural Lou Gehrig Day, designed to honor the man while raising funds and awareness for ALS, the disease that took his life 80 years ago, Jeff writes.

ALS, short for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, is a fatal disease that attacks the nervous system, atrophying the muscles to the point of paralysis. There is no cure.
Why June 2? The first start of Gehrig's legendary ironman streak came on June 2, 1925, and he died exactly 16 years later.

Details: Today's games will include events and activations to honor those, like Gehrig, whose lives were cut short by ALS — as well as the thousands currently living with the disease.

In the fourth inning, stadiums will play a video of former NFL player Steve Gleason reciting parts of Gehrig's "Luckiest Man" speech. ALS stole Gleason's ability to speak, but thanks to Google's Project Euphonia, his voice will echo throughout the yard.
Of note: This isn't the first sports-driven initiative to raise ALS awareness. 2014's "Ice Bucket Challenge," made viral by former Boston College baseball player Pete Frates — who passed in 2019 after a seven-year ALS battle — has raised over $100 million to date.

What they're saying:

"82 years after Lou's speech, patients are going home and doing the same things Lou did, trying off-label therapies, supplements and vitamin E. ... We are not much further along than Lou was. That is why this day is so important."

— Gwen Petersen, who was diagnosed in 2018, via NYT

Coming up: On July 4, the anniversary of Gehrig's speech, MLB will release its first official NFT — a one-of-one digital version of the speech itself, with proceeds going to ALS charities.

🎥 Watch: Gehrig's speech (YouTube)

5. 🏀 EuroLeague: Anadolu wins first title

Data: EuroLeague; Table: Axios Visuals

Turkish side Anadolu Efes won its first EuroLeague title on Sunday, beating Barcelona, 86-81, in the championship game, Jeff writes.

MVP: Vasilije Micić, who began his career playing alongside Nikola Jokić in Serbia, was named regular season and Final Four MVP. The 76ers drafted him in 2014, and the Thunder currently own his rights.
Co-star: Shane Larkin, who spent four seasons in the NBA, scored 21 points with three assists and two steals in the title game.

The backdrop: EuroLeague is basketball's version of soccer's Champions League, in which the best clubs from Europe face off in a 34-game season.

Three years ago, 19-year-old Luka Dončić became the youngest EuroLeague MVP and led Real Madrid to the 2018 title.
Other NBA players currently competing in the playoffs who got their start in the EuroLeague include Jonas Valančiūnas, Jusuf Nurkić, Bojan Bogdanović, Dāvis Bertāns and Nicolas Batum.

Other top performers:

Nikola Mirotić, who played for the Bulls, Pelicans and Bucks, was third in rebounds (6.0) and eighth in points (15.6) for Barcelona.
Alexey Shved, who spent three years in the NBA, led the league in points (19.8) and assists (7.7) per game for last-place Khimki.
Kevin Pangos of Gonzaga fame ranked third in assists (6.7) and second in total minutes played for Zenit Saint Petersburg.

🎥 Watch: Championship highlights (YouTube)

6. 🏁 New racing series coming June 12

Tony Stewart. Photo: Jared Tilton/SRX via Getty Images

The Superstar Racing Experience, a new series founded by racing legends Tony Stewart and Ray Evernham, has unveiled more details about its upcoming debut.

Details: SRX, which landed Camping World as a title sponsor, will feature six races on a variety of short tracks — from dirt to pavement — with drivers from all different backgrounds competing.
Drivers: Notable names include Stewart (three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion), Marco Andretti (third generation of the famous Andretti family) and Hélio Castroneves (reigning Indy 500 champion).

The races: Each event will consist of two timed 15-minute heat races followed by a 100-lap feature race (except for Slinger Speedway, which will be 150 laps). All races will air at 8pm ET on CBS and Paramount+.

June 12: Stafford Motor Speedway (Stafford Springs, Connecticut)
June 19: Knoxville Raceway (Knoxville, Iowa)
June 26: Eldora Speedway (New Weston, Ohio)
July 3: Lucas Oil Raceway (Brownsburg, Indiana)
July 10: Slinger Speedway (Slinger, Wisconsin)
July 17: Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway (Nashville, Tennessee)

7. 🌍 The world in photos

Photo: Tim Clayton/Corbis via Getty Images

PARIS — 17-year-old Coco Gauff, the youngest American woman to be ranked in the Top 25 since Serena Williams, won her first Grand Slam match as a seeded player on Tuesday. The future. Highlights.

Photo: Susan Vera/Getty Images

PORTO, Portugal — Not sure how I missed this photo from Saturday's Champions League Final. I love it so much. Sports!!!

Photo: Andy Bao/Getty Images

SALT LAKE CITY — The Climbing World Cup took place over the past two weekends, with athletes competing in two disciplines (speed and bouldering) in front of a roaring audience of 3,000 fans.

Photo: Muzogeye Plaisir/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

KIGALI, Rwanda — The inaugural Basketball Africa League concluded on Sunday, with Zamalek of Egypt upsetting Tunisia's US Monastir to be crowned champions.

8. 📆 June 2, 1935: Babe Ruth says goodbye

Ruth during a ceremony at Yankee Stadium to retire his jersey. Photo: Library of Congress/Corbis/VCG via Getty Images

86 years ago today, Babe Ruth retired from baseball in somewhat unceremonious fashion.

The backdrop: Ruth began his career with the Red Sox before becoming a Yankees legend. But his final season, at age 40, came with the Boston Braves.

He joined the Braves as a part-time player with dreams of managing, but with his performance cratering and his managerial aspirations proving unattainable, he decided to step away from the game.
"How can he manage other men when he can't even manage himself?" said Ed Barrow, who managed Ruth with the Red Sox and was a Yankees executive during Ruth's time in New York.

Post-retirement: July 1939 was probably the high point of Ruth's post-playing days. In the span of one week, he shared a long-overdue hug with Lou Gehrig and became a member of the first Hall of Fame class.

In April 1947, after being diagnosed with throat cancer, Ruth spoke at Yankee Stadium's "Babe Ruth Day" celebration. "You know how bad my voice sounds? Well it feels just as bad," he said.
The Babe died on Aug. 16, 1948, at age 53. His open casket was displayed at Yankee Stadium, where nearly 80,000 people paid tribute.

His memory lives forever...

Giphy

Go deeper: Decades later, Ruth's hug means almost as much as Gehrig's speech (SB Nation)

9. 🏒 Stanley Cup trivia

Photo: Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images

The Lightning, up 2-0 on the Hurricanes, are vying to become the first repeat champions since the Penguins (2016-17).

Question: Who did the Penguins beat in those back-to-back Stanley Cup Finals?
Hint: Opposite coasts.

Answer at the bottom.

10. 🎥 Tuesday's top plays

Photo: Rob Carr/Getty Images

Watch all 5.

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Talk tomorrow,

Kendall "Don't let the Orioles, winners of one game in a row, get hot" Baker

Trivia answer: Sharks and Predators