TODAY'S CHEAP SHOT
SUMMER LEAGUE'S A MONEY GRAB WITH UNNEEDED RISK
I’m as excited as anyone to see the newest crop of NBA stars take the floor but doesn’t Summer League seem like the wrong venue? How many injuries have we seen in Summer League that were unnecessary and changed the start of players’ careers. Other sports aren’t out here trying to make a few extra dimes at the expense of their young players. AJ, Peterson, Boozer, Wilson….these guys are supposed to be the future faces of their teams and we are risking their health in meaningless games in half filled gyms. You want to have Summer League for guys that are trying to make it to the League, then do THAT! Leave the young draft picks out of it. You need to be better NBA. Wasn’t that deal with ESPN already enough money?
FRESH SHOTS
Kelce - Swift Blessing
Shohei No Way!
Under Your Skin
Catchin' Strays
The Tiger Effect Officially Proved Negative
Everyone loves to talk about the “Tiger Effect” like it’s the greatest thing that ever happened to the sport of golf. They talk about the mid-90s swag, the red shirts on Sunday, the massive TV ratings, and the athletic explosion. Tiger Woods burst onto the scene in mid 90s with all the confidence of a 21-year-old phenom and a revolutionary game to match. His ability to hit bombs down the fairway and have a deft, surgical touch around the greens made him untouchable. A generation later, the cost of that revolution has come due. The Tiger Effect proved negative.
The modern pro game is unrecognizable. I can’t hit it over a half mile of dense forest and land it on a 20-yard-wide fairway 400 yards away. Now I go to the tee and hope my 240-yard driver somehow doesn’t end up in creek right below the tee box. Modern golf has broken the everyday hack.
I’m not for regulation but it’s time to dumb down these high-tech weapons Titleist passes off as golf balls. Let’s see which golfers really have game creative enough to go from Point A to Point B and not skip all the steps.
How Did We Go From Jocks to Nerds
Where did all the jocks go? Before everyone gets all in their feelings, I know all the major sports athletes are bigger, faster, stronger. They spend all this money on their body and live in the gym. Save me the talking points.
But If that’s the case – if these athletes are such supreme physical specimen, why do we need a room full of data engineers to win a football or basketball game. Let me have a guy with a computer update the algorithm to tell me when and how we should go for it on fourth down or when to kick a field goal. God forbid we have a coach that can just trust his eyes and instincts.
Basketball is worse. Let me check with the Analytics engineer to tell my team what’s a good shot. A nerd over there telling the team to jack up 50 three pointers to “be efficient”. I remember when jocks would just go out there and enforce their will on an opponent. They didn’t need a hard drive. They just looked them in the eye and beat them into submission. I guess “jocks” didn’t retire – They just got benched by the nerds.
Not The Brazil I Remember
Brazil just lost in the round of 16 to Norway. This once great soccer superpower has been relegated to a loss in the same round as Canada. A country with a pedigree of legends such as Pelé, Romario and Ronaldinho could only muster one goal after the game was basically over. This screams of when the USA had to refocus their Olympic basketball chops and build the Redeem team led by the late great Kobe Bryant.
The problem is…Romario isn’t walking through that door. The talent gap from Brazil to France is widening, not shrinking. Countries like the United States are pouring more resources into becoming a team to be reckoned with.
This isn’t an anomaly but the new normal for the small, South American country. The teams at the top of the soccer world are larger, more financially equipped to stay on top. It looks like to me that having the name Brazil on the jersey just doesn’t make you elite anymore.
NASCAR's Hypocrisy is Real!
Hocevar is generational. Heim is generational. Zillich is generational. I find it hilarious how some guys get a pass cause the industry wants him to be the next big thing. Door Bumper Clear spent half a season telling us how ready Zillich was to run Cup at 17 years old. Connor wins a bunch of O’Reilly races and now he’s the next Kyle Larson.
Explain to me how Hocevar is competitive right away in poor equipment, Heim is competitive right away in elite equipment and Zillich is stuck in the 30s in points and it’s all “bad luck.” Maybe he wasn’t as ready as you thought.
O’Reilly series drivers aren’t facing any competition. They’re not beating Kenseth, Hamlin, Harvick, Larson or anyone with a pulse. They’re beating drivers in inferior equipment. Stop crowning guys when they couldn’t even close the deal on an O’Reilly Series Championship.
All The Build Up...For That
For the last week, all I heard was how the US was cheated with the red card on Balogun and his subsequent suspension. Strings were pulled and like magic, Balogun is named eligible to play in the round of 16 game. That backfired in the biggest way and inspired Belgium to put a beatdown on the US Men’s National Team in their biggest soccer game in two decades. I’m not sure why we are surprised.
The US Men’s team is like Lucy pulling the football from Charlie Brown. From now on…I refuse to believe the hype and excitement, until a real accomplishment is made. When’s the Women’s World Cup. That’s a team I can believe in.
CHEAP SHOT THEATER
LEBRON WHO? LAKERS ARE BACK
THE LOCK LOCKER: WEEKLY PICKS
| DATE | GAME | PICK | LINE/ODDS | CHEAP SHOT ANGLE | STATUS | SPORT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7/9/2026 | FRANCE vs. MOROCCO | FRANCE | FRA -180 | Talent wins when talent plays hard. France escaped Paraguay 1-0, so expect a focused team on Thursday. | ACTIVE | FIFA WORLD CUP 2026 |
| 7/9/2026 | ATLANTA BRAVES vs PITTSBURGH PIRATES | ATLANTA | ATL +140 | Two bad pitchers so I'll go with the team I trust with the bats in their hands. | ACTIVE | MLB |
| 7/9/2026 | MILWAUKEE BREWERS vs. ST LOUIS CARDINALS | ST LOUIS | STL +105 | The Brewers have owned the Cardinals but maybe I just want to see something new. Let's go St Louis. | ACTIVE | MLB |
| SPORT | RECORD | % ATS/MoneyLine |
|---|---|---|
| FIFA WORLD CUP 2026 | 6-1 | 85.7% |
| WNBA | 2-0 | 100% |
| DATE | GAME | PICK | LINE/ODDS | STATUS | SPORT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7/3/2026 | COLUMBIA vs. GHANA | COLUMBIA | COL -230 | WON | FIFA WORLD CUP 2026 |
| 7/3/2026 | AUSTRALIA vs. EGYPT | EGYPT | EGY +140 | WON | FIFA WORLD CUP 2026 |
| 7/3/2026 | ARGENTINA vs. CAPE VERDE | ARGENTINA | ARG -650 | WON | FIFA WORLD CUP 2026 |
| 7/4/2026 | CANADA vs. MOROCCO | MOROCCO | MOR -135 | WON | FIFA WORLD CUP 2026 |
| 7/4/2026 | PARAGUAY vs. FRANCE | FRANCE | FRA -500 | WON | FIFA WORLD CUP 2026 |
| 7/4/2026 | GOLDEN STATE VALKYRIES vs. ATLANTA DREAM | GOLDEN STATE | ATL -4.5 | WON | WNBA |
| 7/5/2026 | BRAZIL vs NORWAY | BRAZIL | BRA -135 | LOSS | FIFA WORLD CUP 2026 |
| 7/5/2026 | MEXICO vs ENGLAND | ENGLAND | ENG +140 | WIN | FIFA WORLD CUP 2026 |
| 7/5/2026 | DALLAS WINGS vs. TORONTO TEMPO | DALLAS | DAL -5.5 | WIN | WNBA |