NBA In Season Tournament, Rahm to LIV?, Giants/Jets

Jacob Sternberg, Aaron Rodgers, Julius Randle, Jon Rahm, Jets, Daniel Jones, NFL, Meet-The-Matts, #GoogleAlerts

HOLBROOK, NY – If you didn’t set your clocks back, you’re reading this an hour behind everyone else. That’s alright, though,  you can play catch-up, like 49, 999 NYC Marathon runners, trying to catch that one winner. Speaking of winners, here are today’s talking points: NBA In-Season Tournament, Rahm to LIV? Giants/Jets

Knicks/In-Season Tournament

The NBA introduced its inaugural in-season tournament in an attempt to have the regular season matter just a little more. Despite a career high of 45 for Jalen Brunson, the Knicks fell to the Bucks 110-105 on Friday in their first game of the tournament. Notably, Julius Randle shot just 5-20 including 1-9 from behind the arc. Randle’s lack of effort in the final minute of the game may have cost the Knicks a win. Following Brunson’s missed layup with a minute to play, Randle was visibly angry with Brunson over his shot selection and in the process didn’t get back on defense. That led to an easy Milwaukee layup. If Randle isn’t scoring at a prolific rate, it’s hard to imagine ways in which he’s helping this team.

Jon Rahm to Liv?

Defending Masters champ Jon Rahm, has pulled out of participating in the inaugural season of TGL, the tech-infused league being backed by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy. The league, set to begin in January, is said to include 24 PGA tour players competing in virtual weekly matches at SoFi Center in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. For those who aren’t in the loop of the latest news in the world of golf, you may be asking, “Who cares?”

Rumors have swirled that the World #3 could be headed to the Saudi-backed LIV Golf. Let’s pretend it doesn’t exist for the time being, as we have no idea what the status is of the reported merger between LIV and the PGA tour that would unite the two together. Rahm has always been a player who’s been much more concerned with his legacy rather than chasing the top dollar. A potential move to LIV would upend Rahm’s schedule. Yes, Rahm is arguably the best golfer on the planet, and he can surely take as much time in between competitive rounds as he needs – and still win a Major. However, we’ve seen some who left the PGA tour struggle with their transition into playing much less frequently. I just don’t see Rahm making such a drastic change at this stage of his career. We’ll check back in on golf when the season starts up again in January.

Giants/Jets 

The Giants head to Vegas to play the Raiders and the Jets host the Chargers on Monday night. Big Blue gets Daniel Jones back this week though it’s likely too little too late to salvage this season. The Raiders fired their Head Coach Josh McDaniels and GM David Ziegler. Vegas’ new interim coach is none other than former Giant Antonio Pierce.

As for the Jets they look to make 4 straight against the Chargers. Gang Green is buoyed by -perhaps – the league’s best defense and have done an excellent job keeping their playoff aspirations afloat. This comes, of course,  in the absence of Aaron Rodgers, who GM Joe Douglas reportedly expects to return this season.

Thanks for reading. Feel free to leave your thoughts below and come back tomorrow for Sports Rain Man, Junoir Blaber.

Share Button
About Jacob Sternberg 61 Articles
Along with twin brother, Jackson, Jacob follows dad Big Al Sternberg (aka Fake Sandy Alderson) as a MTM pundit. A Journalism major at Stony Brook University, he likes walks on the beach, movies with subtitles and a doing play-by-play for Pickle Ball games. Like Jackson, he prefers Speedos when wake-boarding.