⚾️ Max Fried Signs Historic Deal, Tight NBA & NHL Games, + More!

Good Morning Blitzers,

Hope you’re having a great week so far. This is your friendly reminder to get your holiday shopping done now. Don’t be the person who waits until the last minute (like I always do every year). Let’s get into things!

WTF Stat: Crazy how durable QB Josh Allen is considering how much he has run in the red zone:

⚾️ Another big day for baseball moves:

Max Fried has agreed to an 8-year, $218 million deal with the New York Yankees, making it the largest contract ever given to a left-handed pitcher. This deal is pending a physical and marks the Yankees' 12th $100 million contract, surpassing the Los Angeles Dodgers for the most such contracts in MLB history.

Nathan Eovaldi has agreed to a three-year, $75 million contract to remain with the Texas Rangers, the team he helped win the 2023 World Series. The 35-year-old pitcher made 29 starts for the Rangers in 2024, finishing with a 12-8 record and a 3.80 ERA.

The Toronto Blue Jays have agreed to trade for All-Star second baseman Andrés Giménez from the Cleveland Guardians. In return, the Blue Jays are sending infielder Spencer Horwitz, 27, to Cleveland. The full details of the trade are not yet disclosed.

• 🔥Take: No one is happier about these deals than Corbin Burnes, the best pitcher in free agency. He should garner a bigger deal than Fried, and deserve it. I’m not sure which team needs him more: Red Sox, Cubs, Orioles, or Giants. Whoever lands him goes from average/fringe playoff team to a playoff favorite.

Free Forum Wednesdays

Free Forum Wednesdays continue - we'll be writing a bit more outside-the-box, fun content, hope you enjoy it!

I recently ventured to a roller skating rink for a date night. I hadn’t roller skated in about 20 years, but back in the day roller rinks were awesome. They made for the absolute best birthday parties. Roller skating, arcade games, laser tag, pizza, cake. What else do you need? They also played certified jams at all times. Just jock jams, 90s grunge and TRL classics on repeat. I can picture it now, rocking my baby blue in line skates (with no back breaks, because I was a speed demon), jamming out to ‘come on ride the train’ with not a care in the world. Better times, better times. 

I assumed going to a rink an adult would be exactly the same, but with beer added in. I assumed incorrectly. The problem is not the rink itself but the adults that attend it. The patrons could be broken into the three distinct groups:

1. Amateurs – folks like myself who rented skates, were there to mess around/forget about their miserable life and soulless existence. A much needed reprieve from the daily grind, to focus on one thing and one thing only: blading. I assumed the vast majority of people would fall into this bucket, but alas, we only made up a small percentage.

2. Skaters who are in it for the love of the game – There were a few select ‘bladers’ that were there simply because they loved roller blading. No other way to put it. It was their happy place. Usually it was some 60+ dude in tie-dye attire, by himself off in his own world. I respect these people, and frankly I wish I loved anything as much as they loved skating. Strong chance they were just on acid but they were living the dream or in a dream. Either way, you do you.

3. Dudes who thought people were there to watch them skate – We all know these types of people, the guy with the aggressively loud car, the lady talking loudly on her cell phone in public, the jabroni taking every shot in pickup basketball, the person that stands up and cuts everyone to get off the airplane first, the macho man that takes all the weights in the gym. I could go on forever with these types of people. Unfortunately, I found where they all congregate, and that is at your local roller rink. The rink was just full of these over inflated ego having selfish tools.

I noticed something was amiss when I first started skating and kept getting ran into, I figured I was doing something wrong, I apologized and got back an annoyed look. But I was in the slow lane, I was going the right direction, I couldn’t figure out what I was doing wrong.  I got ran into no less than 10 times before I realized what was happening. I was surrounded by assholes. All of these ‘look at me’ roller bladers were going around full speed like they had rented the rink for a private function and were surprised you were there every time they bumped into you.  They were out there showing off to no one, skating backwards, doing tricks, and performing what had to be choreographed dance routines. I was looking around, I thought I was getting punk’d or maybe I had unknowingly stumbled onto the set of the sequel to ATL (underrated movie btw).

Maybe these people never won anything in their life or their parents hated them (which would be rightfully so if they had the same personality as a kid). I just don’t understand how anyone could possibly have such an irrational confidence and belief that everyone is there to see them. You just knew these people were regulars too, so they were surrounded by likeminded idiots. I just wanted to violently shake them (maybe their parents should have done this when they were a baby?) and tell them “Were at a skating rink! You’re not that cool”.

Long story short, protect your childhood memories, avoid roller skating rinks and anyone that frequents them. Apologies to the true bladers out there doing it for the right reasons.

Top NBA Games

Bucks 114, Magic 109: Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 37 points to lead the Milwaukee Bucks to a 114-109 victory, securing their spot in the NBA Cup semifinals in Las Vegas. Damian Lillard added 28 points, with nine of them coming in the final minute, including crucial free throws that helped seal the win. The Bucks will face the winner of the New York Knicks vs. Atlanta Hawks quarterfinal on Saturday.

Thunder 118, Mavericks 104: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 39 points to lead Oklahoma City to victory in an NBA Cup quarterfinal. Oklahoma City's defense held Luka Dončić to just 16 points on 5-for-15 shooting. The Thunder capitalized on 19 Mavericks turnovers, scoring 36 points off them.

See full NBA scoreboard here, and standings here. Only two games last night.

Top NHL Games

Hurricanes 3, Sharks 2: Jalen Chatfield scored the game-winning goal with 2:39 left, leading Carolina to a 3-2 victory. Chatfield's shot from the right circle sneaked under Sharks goalie Vitek Vanecek's arm for his third goal of the season.

Maple Leafs 2, Devils 1: Auston Matthews scored the overtime winner with 2:09 remaining to give Toronto a 2-1 victory. Matthews grabbed a loose puck at center ice, broke away, and beat Devils goalie Jacob Markstrom for his ninth goal of the season.

Wild 5, Utah Hockey Club 4: Matt Boldy scored the only goal in a shootout to give the Wild a 5-4 victory. The game saw a late comeback from the Wild, with Marco Rossi scoring the game-tying goal with 43.2 seconds left in regulation to force overtime. The Wild won their sixth game in seven, while Utah suffered its fifth consecutive home loss.

Blues 4, Canucks 3: Jake DeBrusk helped the Canucks force overtime with a game-tying goal with less than two minutes remaining. However, it was all for naught as Dylan Holloway scored the game-winning goal in overtime.

Panthers 2, Kraken 1: The Panthers dominated in shot totals (33-16) but needed a shootout to secure the win. Sam Reinhart and Aleksander Barkov each scored in the shootout, helping the Panthers improve to 18-9-2.

See full NHL scoreboard here, and standings here.

On this day in 1959, the New York Yankees make a 3-player-swap trade with the Kansas City Athletics. One of the players they receive is Roger Maris. Maris had 58 career HRs in his first three seasons. In his second year with the Yankees he hit 61 setting the single season home run record.

Yesterday’s Trivia Time Answer

Which NBA player has the most all-time steals?

A) John Stockton - Stockton leads the NBA with 3,265 steals, averaging 2.17 steals a game. The next closest is Jason Kidd with 2,684.

Check back tomorrow for the answer to today's trivia question and more info!