An Open Mic On A Crazy Year in Sports!

John: We’re live for another edition of SportsWise. John Hagan with Russ Adams and Donald Morris. We’re taking it back a bit for this open-mic session today: It’s just the three of us “sporting” it up, though Patrick will be back into the mix for the next one. That said, what’s on your mind, Donald?

Don: The sport I’ve mostly been looking at is women’s basketball. Now, looking forward to NCAA women’s basketball, I’m a big fan of the DePaul Blue Demons. What’s really going on is Sonya Morris is maturing as a player, and she’s challenging a lot of players at her position. DePaul’s on top of its class in the Big East. They are a good team, and I look forward to seeing them progress during the season. We need to continue to get some wins, though, against the better teams like Creighton.

Russ: Hey, guys. Glad to be here today with you all. First off, I really enjoyed the sports that we have had. Baseball was pretty good; the NHL was pretty good; basketball, the NBA, was pretty good. Now, I want to give a shout out to Sue Bird, who won her fourth WNBA championship—yes, again! Also, let me say that I don’t think the WNBA gets enough credit. Women’s soccer teams get a ton of credit; they get all of the credit. I think it’s time for that to change. Let’s go!

John: What’s on my mind? Well, congratulations to my Dodgers for winning the World Series—that’s number one. Number two, the NHL. The Tampa Bay Lightning won what appeared to be the lowest-rated Stanley Cup since 2000. Number three is the lack of fans at the NFL games. To me, it’s not entertaining. I just can’t seem to watch it without the fans. It feels like an exhibition game. And the NBA, the way they executed the bubble worked. Even with the shadow of COVID-19 hovering, but the way the executed the bubble worked. And an even bigger shout-out to L.A. for both the Lakers and the Dodgers doing a double-dipper of championships. They did it in 1988, and a little history for those of you who love it: 1979, Pittsburgh held the same distinction: The Pittsburgh Pirates won the World Series and the Steelers pulled the Super Bowl. Is there anything else you guys want to talk about?

Don: Jumping on what you said about the Dodgers, I would say the San Francisco 49ers is the football team to complete the trio of championships for California. I know it’s a lil’bit outside of L.A., but they seem to be on a winning page this year. I’ll be looking at them this year, as well as women’s basketball.

Russ: I want to say one more thing about the football game last night. You know, there weren’t fans there, but I had some people over and, so, we created our own fans. And if

you were to get in a pool of some sort, it helps make the game a bit more interesting. I honestly don’t even pay any mind about the fans anymore. Adding those things gives me something additional to cheer, and possibly win a lil’ something.

John: My last thing is the Kansas City Chiefs really look as if they’ll win the Super Bowl again, assuming Pat Mahomes remains healthy. But in regard to not having the fans in the stands for gaming purposes, it negates the handicapping, seeing as the powers aren’t able to handicap the home court without the fans. Just saying…

Russ: This was SportsWise with Russ Adams, John Hagan, and Donald Morris.

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