"The Stack" 7-7-17
Friday’s “The Stack” doesn’t have a whole lot as we head into the weekend. We found out the Home Run Derby field the other day. We’ll talk about that plus the latest NBA free agency moves in “the stack” for today, Friday, July 7th:
Latest NBA free agency signings
While not nearly as big as the deals earlier in the week, there were a number of free agency deals completed on Thursday in the NBA.
· Tim Hardaway Jr. signs four-year, $71 million offer sheet from the New York Knicks. The Atlanta Hawks have the opportunity to match it. I doubt they will.
· Rudy Gay signs a two-year, $17.2 million deal with the San Antonio Spurs
· Vince Carter signs a one-year, $8 million deal with the Sacramento Kings.
· Kelly Olynyk signs a four-year, $50 million deal with the Miami Heat.
A lot of people are going to scoff at the idea that Hardaway Jr. is worth $71 million, but in this day and age in the NBA, some players are going to get paid big bucks that you probably wouldn’t think. Gay still has some ability left and going to San Antonio should be considered a good move. The Kings have done some major revamping this offseason. They are a borderline playoff team. Olynyk got a big payday with the Heat. The east is weak. I think the Heat get in the playoffs this year. We’ll see what else has happens today and throughout the weekend.
Home Run Derby field set
The bracket has been set for the 2017 Home Run Derby Monday night in Miami. The matchups are:
· #1 Giancarlo Stanton vs. #8 Gary Sanchez
· #2 Aaron Judge vs. #7 Justin Bour
· #3 Cody Bellinger vs. #6 Charlie Blackmon
· #4 Mike Moustakas vs. #5 Miguel Sano
What a treat it would be to see Judge against Bellinger in the finals, but we will not get it. That’s a potential semi-final matchup. That means this is going to be a good home run derby and near must-see television. At this point I have to think that Stanton is going to win it in his own stadium, but with the star power in this derby, it promises to be a good one Monday night on ESPN.
Before we go, the World Boxing Organization (WBO) will re-score the Jeff Horn-Manny Pacquiao fight from the weekend because of the stunning unanimous decision the judges had in awarding Horn the victory. Good move by the WBO. We need to know that this fight was won fair and square. Most people believe Pacquiao won the fight. We’ll see if the WBO thinks so after they rescore the bout.
Coming up Monday or Tuesday: Reaction to top headlines in sports from the weekend plus Home Run Derby and All Star game thoughts
