There will be those who will tell you that last night’s AEW Dynamite was the worst one the company ever aired. Which is saying something, considering that it still had a great three-way match for the All-Atlantic title, a surprisingly good contest between Brian Cage and Samoa Joe (though no Joe match can ever really be bad), a pretty entertaining promo segment from The Acclaimed (though no Acclaimed promo segment can ever be bad), and an appearance from Japanese legend Katsuyori Shibata to set up a match for Friday with Orange Cassidy — a sentence which breaks the brain of any wrestling fan. Shibata and Cassidy? That’s beyond Narnia. That will only be Shibata’s second match since coming back from nearly dying after a match in 2017, thanks to a subdural hematoma. For wrestling fans that have sat through three-hour shows where literally nothing good happened, and doing that often, this is certainly quite the high floor.

But still, the first hour was certainly a mess. You’re always asking the wrong question if the answer is Jeff Jarrett in any form, as he came strolling out after the show’s first match. But the nadir for a large swath of fans was Chris Jericho’s open ROH challenge being answered by Colt Cabana.

Make no mistake, this was either Jericho’s or Tony Khan’s — and likely both’s — biggest possible middle finger to CM Punk. The root of whatever went down backstage at All Out — “Brawl Out” if you prefer — had been Punk’s relationship with Cabana. Whether he had him removed from the company or didn’t, and how the rest of the locker room felt about what he did or didn’t do. But the crux of last night was the company — whether spearheaded by Jericho or Khan or as a team — backing Cabana, whom the locker room loves, and sticking it to Punk, whom the locker room despises.

Full disclosure: At the moment, I kind of loved it, and am here for anyone happy to call Punk out on his petty, selfish bullshit. At the same time, after the initial giggle, it’s pretty obvious that this isn’t something a true CEO of a company does, whether it’s his idea or not.

Is there value to his locker room to show that he takes their concerns seriously? Absolutely. And there is value in sending the message that it does matter in being a good coworker behind the scenes versus being a raging asshole. But what benefits the roster doesn’t always necessarily benefit the fans, at least not at the same time.

There are certainly a lot of Punk fans still amongst the crowds at AEW events. They haven’t come close to trying to hijack shows or make their presence the center of any show like they did in WWE after Punk’s departure from there. Last night was also — indirectly most likely — a middle finger to them. While almost all of them have accepted that Punk won’t be coming back and are OK with it because AEW regularly still produces such great shows, it really isn’t worth prodding them in any way. They didn’t do anything, after all, and even if that wasn’t Khan’s intent, it’s still how it felt. There were plenty of other ways to reintroduce Cabana to the roster.

While some freaks like me might enjoy the pettiness or Khan and Jericho’s dedication to getting the last word, is this really how the head of the company should act? Shouldn’t he be above that?

While the company has hidden behind reported threats of litigation, those appear to be over. There’s also been the cover of ongoing investigations or continuing negotiations of a buyout for Punk. But fans still haven’t heard anything official. Punk and The Elite were never even officially announced as suspended. They were just gone and AEW left us all to assume. It definitely feels like Khan and AEW are kind of waiting for it to all blow over on its own.

It wasn’t really fair to the fans, who aren’t part of the fight, and yet felt like some of them were being goaded to be. It wasn’t fair to Cabana either, who really was a bystander to all of the mishegas. While he may have said one or two things to other wrestlers behind the curtain, he never said anything publicly about the feeling that he had to be removed from the roster to accommodate Punk. It was all rumors and buzz. He wasn’t at that famous press scrum. He was basically, violently sideswiped by Punk when a question that didn’t really have anything to do with Cabana himself was staged to give Punk the platform to go off. Last night he was vaulted in front of a crowd that didn’t really know how to feel about him, but he’s also been the only subject of the whole furor that’s ever really been put in front of them. Other than maybe Hangman Page when he wrestled Jon Moxley. Punk and The Elite have been gone, Khan made his one comment on the show from a pre-taped video, and that’s been it.

And really, all of this stems from Khan’s inability to take control. If he had cut off Punk at any part of his rant at the press conference, which again didn’t have anything to do with anything that night really, how much more could have been salvaged? How much more could have been kept behind closed doors? Maybe Punk was always a loose cannon who couldn’t be wrangled once he decided he was going to go nuclear. But Khan is still paying for his complete lack of trying. And putting your thumb in the eye of it all weeks later isn’t really great management.

Whatever is lingering in this situation, Khan needs to end it. Whether it’s a buyout or a straight firing of Punk, fans just want it to be over. He’s still hanging over anything, and while everyone basically knows he won’t be seen again (at least not in these arenas), a final underlining of it will help everyone move on. If money is the issue, we know Khan has plenty of it (or his dad does, at least).

Throughout his tenure, Khan has shown to be incredibly affable and magnetic when things are going well. He clearly revels in being the guy who gives the fans what they want — great matches, clean stories, big shows. But he’s also been easily flustered, or just completely frozen, when things don’t go according to plan. His snapping at Big Swole when she quit the company, his dismissal of complaints about how he runs the women’s division, and outsized reactions to other criticisms are just some examples. Khan clearly wants to be everyone’s wrestling-loving buddy who just happens to run the show, and he’s really good at that. And for the most part, it’s what makes AEW as great as it is, because everyone is having so much fun from the top down.

But being the boss also means doing the stuff people don’t like, taking criticism on the chin and maybe using it for some self-reflection, and not getting into pissing contests with the biggest name that ever worked for you.

It’s past time for AEW to move beyond Punk. And it can’t do that until Khan actually drives them to, like the boss is supposed to.

(Also hire “The Boss” Sasha Banks, and make her the center of the company. I’m still dreaming).

The Cleveland Cavaliers’ start to the 2022 season is even hotter than last year’s 9-5 mark that caught a lot of hoops heads off guard. In what was supposed to be a rebuilding year in 2021, the Cavs made the play-in, were 12 games over .500 at the All-Star break, and were on schedule to finish with a top-five record in the East.

Then-rookie Evan Mobley and first-year All-Star Darius Garland didn’t need the customary few months to build chemistry, breaking out in tandem. Jarrett Allen, Lauri Markkanen, Ricky Rubio, and the rest of the supposing cast provided great defense and enough punch to make Cleveland fans hopeful for a promising postseason appearance.

Then, as they tend to do to young teams unfamiliar with how to handle adversity, injuries ravaged the second half, and the Cavs ended up getting bounced in the play-in games with losses to Brooklyn and Atlanta. The organization could’ve rolled it back with mostly the same roster and the notion that a fully healthy team will make a leap after its first time going through a full season.

That wasn’t the case as the front office slow-played its interest in Donovan Mitchell like a poker player who flopped a full boat and waited for the other people at the table to show their hands. The price for the sixth-year guard, three-time All-Star was more than New York was willing to give up, but they didn’t have the infrastructure that’s in place in Cleveland.

While it’s still early, the Cavs are 6-1 with Garland only having played 13 minutes before Wednesday night due to a poke in the eye on opening night against Toronto. And in his return to the lineup against the reigning Eastern Conference champs, the fourth-year guard out of Vanderbilt had 29 and 12 assists, and the team looked like a legit threat to make the ECF if not the Finals in a 114-113 OT win over Boston that was one of the games of the season thus far.

However, this article is not about Garland or overreacting to a W on Nov. 3. It’s about how the team navigated its first bit of turbulence better than their fans could’ve hoped.

How the Cavs got to 5-1 before last night

I don’t want to have to keep reiterating that the stats I’m about to present to you don’t include last night, so I’m telling you now that the stats I’m about to rattle off are in the timespan that Garland more or less missed, which was before Wednesday night.

Led by Mitchell’s 32 points per game on 49-45-85 shooting splits, the offense was seventh in the league in scoring at 117 points per outing. The defense, a big question mark considering the Jazz’s turnstile play style with the undersized guard the past couple seasons, also was exemplary, holding opponents to the second-lowest scoring output in the NBA at 105 points per game.

The Cavs had the best point differential in all of basketball, too, outscoring teams by an average of 12 points per game. Caris LeVert stepped into Garland’s spot in the starting five and was his usual erratic self with flashes of brilliance. He’s had games of 10, 14, 10, 12, 1, and 41, but it didn’t matter much. Even Kevin Love felt up to playing again after pleading for a trade to Portland in 2019.

It didn’t take long for Mitchell to establish himself as the team’s best option, and that was partly facilitated by Garland’s absence. The issue when Garland returns, if there is one, is will the defense continue to be as ornery with two 6-foot-1 guards heading up the backcourt. (They held the Celtics below their season average, and that included an extra five minutes to get there.)

Coach J.B. Bickerstaff has been starting two power forwards and a center in Allen, Mobley, and Dean Wade in the front court, and that lineup of Mitchell-LeVert-Wade-Allen-Mobley has been their most used five this season. One would think playing that big to compensate for deficiencies on the perimeter would hinder the offense, and you’d be wrong.

The versatility of Mobley and the shooting of Wade have prevented defenses from packing the paint and ruining the team’s spacing. There’s some regression in Wade’s future as he can’t possibly continue to hit 65 percent of his 3s on four attempts per game, yet even a 20-point drop in percentage points would rank him among the top guys at that volume. (He was 0-3 from deep against Boston, so yup.) The threat from Dean and LeVert has allowed Mitchell to continue to flourish in the pick-and-roll as he’s been one of the best PNR ball handlers in the NBA during his career.

The concern is the overlapping strengths of the Mitchell-Garland tandem, and the degree to which both can adjust and thrive off the ball. While Garland was top 10 in the league running the PNR a season ago, his 3-point percentage dropped from 40 percent off the bounce to 35 percent when shooting off the catch. Mitchell’s gap from pull-ups to catch-and-shoot is 20 points lower as it stands this year (53 to 33), and I guess that’s something to track.

Having said that, there are worse problems to have than how to integrate a well-rounded All-Star into a rotation that’s blasting the rest of the league. And after watching the two coexist with Mitchell feeding Garland’s hot hand early, and taking over himself late with 11 of his 25 in the fourth and OT, Cavs’ fans have to be 13 levels above ecstatic about their team’s potential.

The regular season is a procession of tests for teams to pass, and thus far, after seven games and a pop quiz, Cleveland has aced all of them.

By the way Luka Dončić has been talked about this year, you’d think the Dallas Mavericks would be undefeated — or at least near the top of the Western Conference standings. The Slovenian superstar is the first player since Wilt Chamberlain to start a season with seven straight 30-point games — which, like most Wilt records, features a bit of hollowness to it.

At 4-3, the Mavs are ninth in the West. I know it’s early, and they’ll probably finish in the top six much like they did a year ago when I questioned Jason Kidd’s hiring at pretty much this exact point of the NBA season. The team ended 2021-22 fourth in the West, made it to the conference finals, and got dusted by the eventual champion Golden State Warriors.

As currently constructed and operating, the WCF is probably Dallas’ best-case outcome for this year. Complain about it being too early and letting the standings, seedings, and playoffs pan out all you want, but this team still goes as Luka goes. He has the ball in his hands as much as any player in the league, and averages an NBA-leading 6.77 seconds per touch among guys getting 30-plus minutes.

There’s nothing wrong with your best option getting the lion’s share of the ball. Honestly, your coach is probably doing something wrong if that’s not the case. Yet, and it pains me to say it because I hate watching this player, I’m getting a little James Harden vibes from Luka.

We’ve seen one-man shows before, and even though I think Dončić is better at it than the Beard, we know how they end. Last season, the Mavs were 24th in points per game despite their leader going for 28, 9, and 9 a night. We’ve also seen more efficient offenses during Luka’s tenure. They had the kinds of offensive numbers under Rick Carlisle that analytics nerds think about right before going to sleep.

The defense last year helped get them to the penultimate round of the playoffs, which is further than the offense ever got them, and it didn’t matter. Either Dončić needs a running mate worthy of all-time sidekick status — like Scottie Pippen or Klay Thompson — that he’s willing to trust to carry the team when he’s off, or he needs to adjust his play style to elevate the Mavs above the sum of their parts.

If I was Jalen Brunson and averaged 30 points per game in the playoffs before Dončić returned from injury, I’d be tempted to go to New York, as well. The current Knick had outputs of 24, 40, and 31 in the three games that Dončić missed against Utah in the opening round, and didn’t break 30 again until Game 2 of the WCF against Golden State.

So what happened to the guy that got 28 a game in round one, but 18 every subsequent series?

Did he just forget how to score? I know Jerry from “Hoop It Up” could’ve tallied 20 against Utah’s perimeter defense last season, but damn, Luka, pass the ball. Dončić attempted nine more shots total than Brunson in the three Round 1 games, 54 more in the Phoenix series, and nearly lapped his No. 2’s shots in the WCF, 118-69.

This season, Dončić is jacking up 24.7 shots per game, which, you guessed it, leads the league. The next feistiest Mav is Spencer Dinwiddie at 13 attempts per.

Their big offseason acquisition — who was going to be exactly what they needed — doesn’t even start. Say what you want about Christian Wood, he’s been waiting to thrive next to a pick-and-roll maestro since he got to Houston the same year that Harden decided he wanted out, and he’s been empowered as much as a parent letting a child control a fake steering wheel.

The your-turn-my-turn stand-around until the superstar wants to share offense might work, but nobody enjoys it. That’s why Chris Paul was done as a Rocket after two seasons next to Harden. Brunson averaged 16, 5, and 4 in ’21, which isn’t too far from CP3’s 18, 8, and 5 during the 2017 Rockets’ year when they almost unseated Golden State.

Kristaps Porziņģis saw his attempts drop every year in Dallas before he got too surly (and injury prone) for the organization. Brunson got a bag and jumped at the chance to see if he could reach his full potential in New York. By my estimation, both left, in part, because they weren’t even being trusted to be sidekicks. It was more of a Paul McCartney & Wings, or The Jimi Hendrix Experience situation where you play bass and maybe get a shoutout or a small solo during the show.

Dončić has likely been the best player on his team since he could dribble a basketball, and his totalitarianism worked at Real Madrid and it got him a round away from the NBA Finals. That said, in the history of the league, one-man shows are far less effective than a balanced team approach. When he figures that out and forgoes the dribble-dribble-dribble stepback 3s as his signature offense, that’s when Dallas will go further than he alone can carry them.

What a difference one year makes.

Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa has gone from being labeled a bust to talking about winning Super Bowls in Miami. Apparently, that’s the type of confidence that comes with having an offensive-minded head coach and All-Pro wide receiver at your side. Indeed, it’s incredible for Dolphins fans to hear Tagovailoa speak in such terms, but he might want to hit the brakes and slow this bus down just a bit.

“I think throughout OTAs, and throughout training camp, we could see the potential that we had as a team, offensively and defensively,” Tagovailoa said. “We’re not afraid to talk about Super Bowls here. We’re not afraid to talk about going to a playoff game, having the opportunity to go to one, and then hopefully winning one.

“I would say I have full belief that we are capable [of winning a Super Bowl].”

Fans in Miami haven’t been this excited about a Dolphins offense since the days of Dan Marino throwing darts to Mark Clayton and Mark Duper. There was the “wildcat” offense in Miami at one point, but that gimmick worked for about a year and a half until opposing defenses figured it out.

Ask any defensive coordinator about their worst fear on the opposite side of the field, and they’ll all tell you the same thing. Speed kills. Offenses with elite speed can be kryptonite to even the best defensive scheme. Miami has more than enough speed, highlighted by Tyreek Hill. He’s so fast sometimes that he outruns Tua’s passes downfield and can’t always catch them in stride. Regardless, this duo has become one of the most dangerous QB-receiver combos in the NFL.

Even with the success this Fins team has had this season, Super Bowl talk might be premature. Tua didn’t just say they aren’t afraid to talk about going to one; he added the “s” meaning multiple. Make the postseason for the first time, then let’s talk about what could be. Aside from those couple of games where he “got his bell rung” and left with concussions, he’s had a great year. Or was it a back injury? Obviously, Miami’s front office thinks we’re all idiots.

When Tua has started this year, the Dolphins are 5-1, and he’s completing nearly 70 percent of his passes. The signal-caller has thrown just three interceptions to 12 touchdowns. Everything in the passing game is clicking for Miami, as Hill and Jaylen Waddle are averaging over 90 receiving yards per contest. Hill is averaging over 120 ypg, which is simply phenomenal. The duo of Hill and Waddle have been on such a tear they currently have more combined receiving yards than nine NFL teams.

While there aren’t too many holes to be poked in this Dolphins’ passing game, one area that could use a little more attention is the running game. Tua to Hill and Waddle has been magnificent, but if you can’t run the ball in the postseason, all the talk of winning Super Bowls could go by the wayside.

The Dolphins rank 28th in rushing yards per game through eight games. There will come a time in the playoffs when they’ll need to run the ball, and if they fail to execute, it could be an early exit for Miami come January. Adding Jeff Wilson Jr. at the trade deadline should help the running game, and joining his former offensive coordinator turned head coach Mike McDaniel in Miami should make for a smooth transition.

The Dolphins’ defense also got a boost at the deadline by acquiring linebacker Bradley Chubb, for whom they’ve already locked up long-term with a five-year, $110 million deal. Anytime you can add a Pro Bowl player to either side of the ball, you’re likely to come out as the winner of that transaction. Miami is currently in the lower third of the league in getting to the QB with 15 sacks. Chubb should help in that category as that’s another aspect they’ll need to sure up to make a deep playoff run.

Overall, Miami looks much better than many expected, but there’s still much room for improvement if they plan on making this Super Bowl run Tua is talking about. This year their ceiling is the divisional round if their defense can’t get to the QB more frequently and they fail to develop more of a running game. 

Applauding a sports organization for responsibly handling sexual misconduct rarely happens, so if you’re willing to praise a team before all the details are released — even if they released the problematic player, exec, or coach — it’s best to wait. I almost wrote the same San Antonio Spurs piece as my coworker D.J. Dunson, who commended the team for parting ways with lottery pick Josh Primo before we even knew he allegedly exposed himself to women, including the team’s staff psychologist, Hilary Cauthen.

The more cases like this arise, the more cynical my view is of any party “doing the right thing” — outside of the victim bravely reporting the malfeasance, of course. With this San Antonio situation, it felt a little too close to trying to get ahead of a potential lawsuit to give them any flowers for cutting bait with an asset they spent precious capital to acquire.

Well, during a news conference Thursday with Cauthen and her attorney, Tony Buzbee, the lawyer who also represented most of the women that accused Deshaun Watson of sexual misconduct, the two alleged that San Antonio failed to appropriately react when she informed them of Primo’s repeated offenses. Both the team and free agent guard are being sued over the alleged indecent exposure, per a lawsuit filed Thursday in Bexar County, Texas.

Primo’s attorney, William J. Briggs II, released a lengthy statement denying any wrongdoing on his client’s behalf. The statement read in part:

“Josh Primo is at the beginning of a promising career and has been devastated by these false allegations and release by the Spurs. He is in the process seeking treatment to deal with the trauma inflicted on him by Dr. Cauthen’s misleading allegations, in addition to the previous trauma he suffered as a child. He looks forward to clearing his name and to moving forward with his NBA career.”

According to the suit, Cauthen notified GM Brian Wright about Primo in January before having a meeting with Wright about it in March, where she expressed her discomfort over working with the rookie guard alone.

Then in April, after the teams kept calling on her to meet with Primo, she informed Wright about further concerns and frustration over treating him, the suit says. After Wright asked her “what consequence” she felt would be appropriate, she told him the team needs to address the situation, and the GM responded that the franchise’s legal team would be in contact.

She then met with lawyers and legal counsel for the Spurs, who disclosed to her an investigation would be opened, said she should avoid contact with Primo, and that a write-up was coming, according to the suit.

When she asked about the status of the inquiry a week or so later, the team’s deputy general counsel and head of human resources told her Primo was going to continue to participate in team activities and suggested that she work from home, according to the suit.

When Cauthen met with team reps again in June, they said they had spoken to Primo, and wondered if she would be open to having a conversation with him, the suit says. She declined to take the meeting with her alleged harasser.

And this isn’t in the suit, but rather my opinion: Who the fuck could blame her?

At a later meeting the same month, the dynamic duo of Spurs stooges disclosed to Cauthen that the team is mulling over fixes to the timely reporting of incidents, according to the lawsuit. She was even told that head coach Gregg Popovich was aware of the situation and “wanted to do right by her.”

The team didn’t respond to a request for comment from The Athletic.

So, if these allegations are true, the Spurs knew about Primo more than 10 months ago, failed to take the claims of a team employee seriously, kept asking her to meet with an alleged abuser, then suggested she avoid him and work from home, offered up some sham of an investigation, asked her to have a conversation about it, offered up sham fixes to their broken system, and only cut ties with the problem employee a mere week before a lawsuit was announced.

Now that sounds more like the incompetent, out-of-touch, bumbling sports organizations that I know and loathe.

Last night, the Houston Astros’ pitching staff combined for the second no-hitter in World Series history. Cristian Javier, Bryan Abreu, Rafael Montero, and Ryan Pressly allowed only three baserunners (all walks) while striking out 14 Phillies en route to evening up the World Series. There were only four other games all season where the Phillies struck out more times.

The highlight of the game was undoubtedly Astros’ starter Cristian Javier, who compiled nine strikeouts through six innings while walking only two batters. He was lights out like Super Bowl 47. He hadn’t allowed a single baserunner since the third inning, and was only at 97 pitches through six. The old adage is that you want to throw under 15 pitches per inning, and while Javier was above that threshold, he was still far under his season-high pitch count of 115.

This series is going to go at least six games, and at this rate, nobody would be shocked if it went 7 innings, and that’s why saving the team’s bullpen is all the more important.

This isn’t about Javier getting a shot at a solo no-hitter. While that obviously would’ve been awesome to see, and people likely would’ve tuned in to watch it potentially unfold, that’s not what’s important. Dusty Baker and the Astros don’t care about no-hitters. They care about winning, and that’s how it should be. If Baker believed taking Javier out was the best decision to help his team win, good on him. I disagree.

Leaving Javier in might have MAYBE lowered his team’s chances slightly in Game 4 (that’s obviously unprovable), but it also would’ve helped his team in the long run. Ryan Pressly is an All-Star-caliber closer who posted a 2.98 ERA, 12.1 K/9, and 2.31 FIP in 2022. He has already thrown in three games this World Series. Rafael Montero is an elite setup man. He’s pitched in three games this series. The best arms in that Astros’ bullpen are getting burnt out and leaving Javier in would’ve perhaps given that bullpen some much needed rest. Sure, the World Series was postponed and there was an extra day of rest given to both teams, but your arms can never be too fresh and using guys like Pressly and Montero when Javier likely could’ve gone one or two more innings is a poor decision that could harm the team should a Game 7 be required.

It’s easy to sit back and look at what unfolded last night and assume the best decisions were made. After all, how is it possible to make a mistake when your team throws a no-hitter? And if I’m being honest, there are a few counterarguments that could be made. For one, Javier had only gone over 100 pitches twice all season. In both of those instances though, Javier didn’t allow a single hit in his final inning. In fact, he only allowed one baserunner (Josh Donaldson, who got on by error). In total, batters went 0-for-7 with four strikeouts. He’s got the arm to go deep into games and has proven effective in those situations.

Javier’s career ERA in the 7th inning of games is 2.93 with a .572 OPS against. That’s a very solid number. And sure, the heart of the Phillies’ lineup was coming up in the seventh — JT Realmuto, Bryce Harper, and Nick Castellanos — and this would’ve been their third time facing Javier in that game, but remind me how those three had done against Javier to that point? Oh yes, 0-for-5 with five strikeouts and a walk.

Obviously, great hitters make adjustments and those are three great hitters, but Javier wasn’t doing anything special or tricky on the mound. He was throwing gas, over 70 percent fastballs and was just dominating the Phillies’ hitters. It was clear he had their number and likely wouldn’t have had to make any adjustments to mow down Philadelphia’s 3-4-5 hitters.

Sure, there’s fear that the Phillies could score five runs quickly again, like they did in Game 1, but Verlander was not on the same tear that Javier was, and I’m not saying that if Javier had returned for the seventh, his leash should’ve been long. Baker still would’ve had the bullpen going, ready and waiting for any sign of regression from Javier, and would’ve pulled the trigger at the first sign of trouble.

Perhaps Javier’s arm was getting tired? Maybe a little, but Javier wasn’t playing like his arm was. In the first inning of that ballgame, Javier threw 13 fastballs and four sliders. The fastball was hitting 93-95 miles per hour. The slider was hitting 80-81. In the sixth inning, Javier threw 16 fastballs and three sliders. Every fastball was either 92 or 93. Every slider was either 79 or 80. He’d lost one mile per hour on his fastball, which is definitely something, but not enough to warrant concern over wear and tear, especially when your guy is tossing the greatest game in recent World Series memory.

“But what about if Baker wants to use Javier in Game 7?” you might be thinking.

This is the best counterargument to my claim. The Phillies hit Lance McCullers really well in Game 3. There are rumors that McCullers was tipping his pitches as well. We’ve all seen the breakdowns. It looks as though that was the case. You could tweak McCullers’ technique to avoid that happening again, but making those changes in the middle of a World Series, especially when he’s scheduled to pitch Game 7, could prove disastrous and isn’t worth the risk. Sure, it would be on short rest, but Javier could absolutely pitch in Game 7 if he needed to. If that’s the case, my argument folds.

However, that would also likely mean a short outing for Javier — four, maybe five innings if they’re lucky. That’s potentially half a game that the bullpen is going to have to cover. Wouldn’t it be nice to have your best guys fresh then? That’s one potential downside I can think of.

The final aspect I want to talk about are the optics of leaving Javier in the game. How would it have looked if Baker kept Javier in the game and he blew the lead? Not good. Obviously, that’d be a difficult question to answer if the press brought it up. However, that argument goes both ways. What if the bullpen ended up blowing the lead? How would it look if Baker took out someone throwing a no-hitter and the bullpen lost the game? That also would’ve been a bad look. We’ve seen it happen before, as recently as 2020 when Tampa Bay Rays’ manager Kevin Cash removed Blake Snell from Game 6 of the World Series after 5.1 innings of one-run ball and only 73 pitches. Look how that turned out.

There were people calling for Kevin Cash’s head after that decision. You’re telling me that leaving Javier in would’ve been a worse look than that? I don’t buy it.

Obviously, everything worked out in Game 4. Although I am worried about the longevity of the Astros’ bullpen coming into play, it’s not a major concern and would only come into play if the series reaches seven games.

I’ll also admit, I’m a little biased. As a baseball fan, I would’ve liked to have seen Javier go for the solo no-hitter, but I know he never would’ve made it through nine innings. Still, there would have been some legitimate benefits to keeping Javier in in the long term. Like I said, it’s easy to look at how dominant Abreu, Montero, and Pressly were in the final third of the game and say “Yeah, removing Javier was the right call.” I’m just not so sure.

Love is certainly not the first thing that comes to my mind when I think about Philadelphia — despite it being called the City of Brotherly Love or having a statue of the word. I don’t care how high of a note Musiq Soulchild hit in his 2000 Billboard Top 100 single.

This city’s sports fans booed local legend Kobe Bryant at the NBA All-Star Game, Michael Irvin when he injured his neck, and had a jail and courtroom inside Veterans Stadium, the former landfill where football and baseball games were played. That being said, if there was ever a time to catch them in a good mood, it’s right now.

After a tough start to the NBA season, the 76ers have won four of their last six games, the Phillies are tied 2-all with the Houston Astros in the World Series, and the Eagles are undefeated going into tonight’s game against the lowly Houston Texans.

What with the general disappointment that the Sixers have been the last four years following their “process” of losing an embarrassing amount of games to draft Jahlil Okafor, Markelle Fultz, and Ben Simmons, Philadelphia sports fans, the time to find love and happiness in your city is now. Two couples have gone viral with their success, a pair of rookies and some up-and-coming youngsters.

Jim Lindrooth was in the street partying with his friends and the fans after the Phillies won the NLCS in late October. He was passing out beers and in the process, he lost his friends. One of the people to who he passed a beer volunteered to help him find his friends by hoisting him up on her shoulders — and it worked. Unfortunately, he quickly lost track of the woman.

One of his friends posted on Facebook that Jim was looking to make contact with the woman, and then the good people of Philadelphia tried to create their own real-life rom-com. Jim had the city of wingmen at his side trying to help him find her, and eventually, he got in contact with Erin Sweeney. It turns out they’re both single, and there’s only a two-year difference in age. They talked via social media direct messaging, and according to the Washington Post, the two received tickets for Game 4 from a law firm. If the two do indeed make a love connection, look for Will Smith to executive produce a movie about them titled, “Heart and Shoulders: A Philadelphia Love Story.”

On Sunday, in the parking lot at the Eagles game, a couple decided to take steps to make their love official. Save your corny jumbotron proposals, in Philadelphia asking for a hand in marriage requires true intimacy.

A couple was filmed shotgunning beers together, because what better way for a couple to connect than getting hops into their bloodstream as fast as possible? The man got through his beer faster and then quickly snapped down on one knee to ask his girlfriend to marry him right as the crowd finished chanting “E-A-G-L-E-S, Eagles!” She posted the video on Twitter, which was apparently filmed by strangers because they reconnected in the comments. What a city.

I guess oysters and passion fruit don’t quite get the job done in Philly. Salt of the earth people, who like their steak chopped and placed into buns, all they need is a beer and a W. That’s how you find love in Philadelphia. 

The most important part of the Brooklyn Nets and Kyrie Irving’s joint announcement that they’ll partner with the Anti-Defamation League to pledge $1 million total to organizations that fight intolerance was what wasn’t there — an apology. The self-enlightened guard feeling remorseful for his actions and holding himself accountable for neglecting his responsibilities of having an enormous social media following is different from diplomatically stating you oppose hatred and you’re aware of the negative impact on the Jewish people you caused.

Apologies are paramount in the public eye and Irving failed to procure one ounce of regret, even with whatever steps caused him to fork over $500,000 to charity in this instance. Money doesn’t solve everything. His quote in Wednesday’s press release is the bare minimum NBA fans have come to expect from the martyr to an audience of one (himself). The lack-of-apology trend is a pattern in itself for Irving. Just look at his stance on getting vaccinated or whether the Earth is round. The ADL, whose mission is to stop the mistreatment of Jewish people and provide equal treatment for all, found 2,717 antisemitism events in 2021, a 34 percent increase from 2020. That averages to more than seven such incidents per day.

On Thursday, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, who is Jewish, released his own statement, calling Irving’s post reckless and recognizing he hasn’t actually apologized. The two apparently have a meeting scheduled next week to discuss the issue. How bad do you want to be a fly on the wall for that conversation? A person Irving directly discriminated against runs the league that signs his paychecks. He’ll be forced to answer in some way for promoting the book and documentary Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America, which pushes several lies about the Jewish people and their mistreatment of people of color. Rolling Stone stated the film and text are “stuffed with antisemitic tropes” and equated itself with the Black Hebrew Israelites, a group with a long history of sexism, racism, and most frequently antisemitism. A former Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan once described the group as their Black counterparts.

This is a situation where I believe Silver is applying the principles from Judaism of tikkun olam, literally “repair of the world” in Hebrew. It essentially means to act in the correct fashion, no matter the actions of others. In modern day, it’s referred to more frequently for social justice for the Jewish people. The NBA gave into peer pressure by not suspending Irving after his now-deleted antisemitic social media posts and Saturday postgame exchange with ESPN reporter Nick Friedell, which made things much worse for me because of Irving’s lackadaisical attitude. By the time his despicable actions had widespread comprehension in the sports world, suspending Irving would’ve again been giving into peer pressure. It would’ve come off as damage control, not because the NBA actually wanted the Nets’ guard to miss playing time.

Despite their playful bickering, which has become a staple of the NBA’s coverage on TNT, Charles Barkley and Shaquille O’Neal became two voices of reason in this situation. Both condemned Irving’s actions, with Barkley stating the lack of suspension was the wrong decision and O’Neal despising how Irving divided people who like basketball. Amare Stoudemire, a former Nets assistant who converted to Judaism in 2020, also spoke out about the nonexistent apology. Instead, Irving played Monday night, scoring 28 points in 43 minutes in a win over the Indiana Pacers, like nothing happened, maybe except for the good Samaritans sitting courtside wearing yarmulkes with “Fight Antisemitism” T-shirts. Do you think Kyrie noticed them? I’m not sure he cared, even if he got a good look.

Antisemitism is incredibly easy to spot and diagnose. Like any other hatred, it should be stamped out and the responsible parties should seek to learn how to avoid repeat behaviors. Failure to adjust should mean those unwilling to change get left behind. There’s no place for discrimination of any kind, and the fact that some with large platforms don’t understand their responsibilities of being a public figure (i.e. Kanye West) is downright awful to those in harm’s way of the vitriol. The implementation couldn’t have been clearer for the Jewish people over the last two weeks. Eradicating the world of antisemitism has crossed over into mainstream America again since Ye’s antisemitic patterns ballooned. And of course, such discourse brings out the worst of society. I’ll spare you the emails and DMs, but turns out grammar isn’t important to bigots.

Brooklyn returns to action Friday night against the Washington Wizards on the road. Why don’t the Nets visit the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum as part of their trip? The D.C. metropolitan area is where nearly 300,000 Jews call home, per the Jewish Virtual Library. Even more startling, more than 10 percent of the world’s Jewish population lives in the New York metropolitan area. That’s 2.1 million Jewish people residing within 30 miles of Barclays Center. Silver is one of them. Why not as part of your meeting with Irving next week take a field trip to The Jewish Museum? It’s a straight shot down Fifth Avenue from the NBA headquarters.

The difference between Irving and Ye is that I believe West is antisemitic. Irving is deranged and a slightly useful idiot. He’s lazy for not using Google to make sure he’s not promoting derogatory projects. He’s stubborn for retreating to the retort of “don’t dehumanize me up here. I can post whatever I want” when speaking about it publicly. I don’t think he’s ever blatantly hated Jewish people though. Irving labeled himself as an omnist, a group of people who recognize and respect all religions and their belief systems. I guess that theory didn’t apply to the Jewish people last weekend. And that’s why an apology was so important. We’re still waiting Kyrie.