Mavs Youth Movement, Sorsby’s Nowhere to Go & World Cup Fever Hits America

Welcome again to Just Wondering with Norm Hitskas. On today's podcast, what are the Mavericks doing in the draft? What are they doing going forward? What's the plan for Masai Ujiri and Mike Schmitz? And then the epic slide in the life of star quarterback Brendan Sorsby just continues. And finally, the passion of soccer grips America. And now a word from our title sponsor. Eying retirement? We aim to turn your nest egg into a paycheck with half the amount you've been led to believe. Fluent Financial combines in house portfolio design risk management with income generating investments designed to aid your financial independence. Our goal is to develop an effective portfolio strategy to help you retire sooner and have a better lifestyle. Fluent Financial can also implement a program that allows business owners to install a cash balance plan, which may potentially reduce income tax payments. You've worked hard to become successful. Let us help develop an effective portfolio strategy that works for you. Learn more today about Fluent Financial. Retire sooner, better lifestyle. For more information or to schedule a meeting, visit fluentfinancial.com or call (972) 852-4800. We're seeing the very start of a plan for the Mavericks. The owner, mister Dumont, decided he would clean house, and rightfully so, by the way. He hired Masai Ujeri, who hired his own general manager, Mike Schmitz, and they hired their own coach, Dusty May. They fired Jason Kidd along the way, but don't worry for him. He's got a lot of years of pay coming, and he'll turn up somewhere else in league very soon. Now, this all started with the draft and the realization the Bavs were gonna build around Cooper Flagg. And they drafted in the first round a surprise. Morris Johnson, the beefy Ford from the University of Michigan. Most people thought they were gonna draft Braden Burries. I thought they were gonna draft Braden Burries, but they didn't. There had been very little to connect the Mavs at all to Morris Johnson in public, but that's the way Ujiri and Schmitz work. They work quietly. He's a guy, Johnson that is, who can defend every position on the floor. He's a stout two hundred and fifty pounds, and six foot nine in his stocking feet, and he's 20. Remember that. Numbers like that will come up again in a little while. I'm just wondering. And then in the late second, they took a forward named Toby Lowell. He's 23 years old. He's from Virginia Tech, and I suspect he's gonna spend the year in the g league. But the other two picks yes. Two picks had the fingerprints of general manager Mike Schmitz all over them. Schmitz has a reputation of an international talent wizard. Mavericks had the thirtieth pick in the first round. New York at number twenty twenty five took a Spanish guard to Sergio de la Reyes, but the Mavericks swung a deal trading the Knicks number 30 to get number 25. This looks like a Schmidt's special. Della Reyes is an ascending six foot seven off guard from a very, very good team in Spain, Valencia. And here's that number again. He's 20 years old. And then the Mavericks, who didn't have a pick after number 48 at the wall, bought a pick from the Lakers. And this again has Schmidt's fingerprints on it. It's a Russian forward named Sudoloff Ichchenko. He's six eighties, two hundred and twenty pounds, and he's 21 years old. Now the plan for De La Reyes, the Spanish guard, was to leave him in Europe for one more year, but that apparently is not going to happen. He wants to come to The United States and play for his favorite team, which has been the Dallas Mavericks. Now, they'll leave Ichinco in Europe to see if he develops, but De La Reyes will sign a four year $15,000,000 contract to join the Mavericks this year. Look at the way this club is focusing on youth. There's Flag, who's still a teenager, and now Mores Johnson, and Derrick Lively, and that Spanish guard, De La Reyes. If you also factor in young point guard, Ryan Nemhard, and or Max Christie, the Mavericks next year at times could have five players on the floor, 23 years old or younger. But that's that's got to be the plan here, to develop long term, to form a foundation of kids that will be the basis for the next Maverick contender. But note note how the Maverick went about this draft. Quiet. No leaks. You didn't hear Johnson's name. You didn't hear De La Reyes' name. None of us knew to hear the Russian kid's name. So I think this is the Maverick's new way of doing business. They won't do business at all in the public forum, and we should all get used to it. The Mavericks, I think, will do things all of a sudden without us getting clues to it. But if the future is building on kids, what about the rumors that the Mavericks are interested in adding all star 35 year old forward Kawhi Leonard? What do you want from your favorite restaurant? Fantastic personal service, a cheery, welcoming, spotless atmosphere. And of course, great food. The primest of beef, Wagyu and lamb, incredibly fresh seafood, lobster, salmon, shrimp, hall of fame food from a hall of fame restaurant, two locations of Bob's Steak and Chop House, the original Bob's on Lemon Avenue, and the gorgeous new Bob's at Craig Ranch McKinney. A couple of days ago, when I first heard the rumors that the Mavs might be interested in Kawhi Leonard, I was very much surprised and pretty much in doubt. Now a couple of days later, I must admit, I'm still very much surprised and still a little bit in doubt. But the Mavericks, I think, are gonna be in the middle of loads of discussions and rumors not started here about possible trades and player movements of some kind. Masai Ujiri acquired Leonard in Toronto, and in his one year there, Leonard led Toronto to the NBA championship. So Ujiri knows Leonard well, but what do you do here? Would he make the May Mavs better right now? Oh, oh, yeah. Would make them title contenders? No. No, that's San Antonio and Oklahoma City in the West. But you have to be intrigued about thinking about Cooper Flagg, Kawhi Leonard, and Kyrie Irving on the floor at once offensively. But Dusty May's signature is defense, And I think that's where the Mavs are headed long term. And Leonard is likely headed to Toronto anyway. He wants to go back there if he's traded, and it appears Toronto has high interest in him. But the Mavs have cap room. They have maneuvering room. They can help facilitate facilitate trades for other teams. That is if if teams get stuck on money, well, the Mavericks can help them move players, take players, and by the way, for what they contribute, the Mavs could pick up future draft choices. And that's the idea here. The Mavs have to replenish their store of draft picks because the Mavericks still, I believe, are about building here for about the year 2030. So what would the plan be if somehow the Mavericks got Leonard? Would they extend extend him and then trade him again? Would they deal him at the trade deadline? Would they wait till after next season, do a sign and trade to add some players draft picks or whatever? I I don't know. But surely Leonard at 35 right now wouldn't be here past one season. But you know, we don't know. We don't know what's inside the mind of Masai Ujiri and Mike Schmitz. They have a plan. They have a picture of where they're taking this team. And right now, what is the plan? Well, we're we're not certain. Yes. Make the club better. Mavericks don't have control of their number one pick next year, so making the club better certainly is a possibility. Sneaking in the back door of the playoffs, not a bad thought at all if you can do without ruining the future. Betray Daniel Gafford? Oh, yeah. Very possibly. PJ Washington? Oh, yeah. Very possibly. Najee Marshall? Oh, somebody like him. Kyrie Irving? I know what Masayu Jerry said that he looks forward to seeing Flag and Irving on the floor together. But if there's something that will speed up the Mavericks building plan and it involves Kyrie Irving, I think he's gone. How are they gonna do this? How are they gonna build the Mavericks of the future? What's the plan? Only those guys know. And when it happens, then we'll know. And then about the next step, we won't know until Eugeria and Schmitz tell us what they've done. My wife marries the co creator of Full Moon Healing Balm, and I guess I'm the reason this terrific cream was developed. A few years ago, I began getting these huge, ugly blood blotches just beneath the skin of my arms and hands. The condition's called senile purpura. And no, you don't have to be senile to experience this embarrassment. It happens as you age. And then to cover it up, we begin wearing long sleeves, even when it's hot. It took two years working with a New Jersey lab to refine the all natural ingredients of full moon healing. Gently massage a very small amount into the skin, and within a day, the blotches begin to fade. See now, purpura usually takes weeks to disappear. But this bomb cuts the timeline to about a week. And ordering's so easy. Just go to the website, fullmoonhealingco.com. The somewhat sordid story of the downward turn in the life of Brendan Sorsby has taken yet another step downward. For those who don't know all the particulars, a bit of background. Sorsby originally signed with the University of Indiana. He spent two years there, and he was good enough to be the virtual starter his second year there, through 237 passes. But then Kurt Signeti arrived in Indiana, and he brought with him Mendoza, who eventually went number one pick in the NFL draft, the Raiders. And Sorosby could understand the handwriting on the wall, and he transferred to Cincinnati where he was good. He was very good in the two years he spent there. How good? Well, there were thoughts if he jumped into the NFL draft this past spring, he'd have gone late first, maybe early second. He did not jump in the NFL draft. In the days of NIL in college name, image, likeness, where kids can make a ton more money playing one year in college than they can play playing two or three years in the NFL. He instead chose to go to Texas Tech. Tech thought they were one good quarterback away from truly challenging for the national championship, and Sorsby is one good quarterback. So Tech gave him $5,000,000 to come play a tech. Then the roof caved in on Sorsby's beautiful life. The NCAA announced findings that sorely had basically compulsively gambled hundreds, thousands of bets totaling $90,000, though it could well have been much more than that. But betting, why are playing? That's strictly forbidden by NCAA rules, and he knew it. He used friends to place the bets for him, and it was further revealed that Sorsby had actually bet 40 times on the Indiana games while he was there. That is strictly a no no. And by the way, twice against Indiana, though Soresby, he says, well, he doesn't recollect that. Of course he doesn't. And then quickly, Soresby admitted his gambling disease and jumped into rehab. Another obvious next step in a situation like this. The NCAA then suspended him for an entire year, and that was the end of his college career. Well, no. Texas Tech jumped to his defense. They they fought the NCAA. They made other division one teams furious because Sarsby deserved this suspension by every rule in the NCAA books. He deserved at least a year suspension. If not, were he a freshman or sophomore suspension the rest of his career? But the NCAA stood its ground. Tech then found a judge in Fort Worth who reduced Sorsby's suspension to two games next year. He would miss Tech's first two games against Abilene Christian and terrible Oregon State. Basically, he'd missed the games against the little sisters of the poor and the little brothers of the poor. Tech Overnight became the villain of college sports. Schools threatened to cancel games, and then our Texas attorney general, Ken Paxton, who knows a thing or two about legal troubles, many of them his own, and he threatened the schools who threatened Texas Tech. And oh, yes, by the way, Paxton is running for United States Senate in Texas this fall. Finally, Sorsby, or perhaps very quietly, the people who backed the tech program realized they were creating a whole world of trouble with this situation. And maybe the thing that broke the camel's back here, that straw was the Big twelve saying they were going to have their own meetings to see if Soresby could play in Big twelve games this year or not. Well, the whole thing had become a tarnishment on Texas Tech and its athletic department. So, Soresby announced he was leaving Texas Tech, dropping his attempt to be the tech quarterback this year. Tech, which may have been motivated by the possibility of a lawsuit, then said they give good old Brendan Sorsby his $5,000,000,000 still as a sort of a nice going away present, despite the fact he never played one snap for the school's football team. But then, Sarsby could just apply for the NFL supplemental draft. The supplemental draft is held by the NFL when players of some substance who would be considered pretty draftable, but who had lost their college eligibility after the NFL's April draft, the NFL then will hold a supplemental draft sometime in the summer, usually late June. But but wait, the NFL announced it wasn't gonna hold a supplemental draft for Brendan Sorsby. Sorsby's lawyers immediately started making noise about some action against the NFL, but I think the NFL would rather fight this situation than defend their actions, which may have been a year long suspension from the NFL for a player who'd bet games while he was in college. But there was still another route to go for Brendan Sorsby, the Canadian Football League. Nope. They announced they didn't want him either. Now, the owner of the Dallas Renegades in the UFL, which I'm sure you watch every minute on television, Mike Grapoli said, yeah, he'd be welcome here. But you know what? They don't start playing games again until next spring in the UFL. So what do we have now? A solid quarterback, nowhere to play, an admitted addicted sports gambler with $5,000,000 in his pockets and nothing to do. Which sounds like the recipe for even more trouble to me. Stolen Water Media is making a move. After two plus years, it's time to change and keep up with our growth. You can continue to view all eight of our podcasts on our Patreon pages. But now you can get all episodes at www.stolenwatermedia.com. This is a developing story, but you can begin by watching and listening right now at www.stolenwatermedia.com. Continue to find all audio wherever you find your favorite podcasts, and some you may not have heard of, but I think will enjoy. Are you just wondering where your next spectacular vacation will be? Relax. Feel the sun on your body. Let your cares melt away at the all inclusive Cerenian Bay Resort in Southern Belize. It's literally built right on the sand. The ocean, your ocean is just a few barefoot steps away. Laid back luxury, terrific food, a swim up bar, a spa, air conditioned gym, unimaginable service, fishing, snorkeling in gorgeous turquoise waters. Do you want relaxation, or do you need adventure? You choose at Ceridian Bay. Mary and I have been there three times, and this summer will be number four. Pick a cozy bungalow for two or bring the whole family to villas that can accommodate up to 14. Sirenianbay.com, S I R E N I A N. The sand and the sea are just waiting for you to get here. And finally, World Cup euphoria is around the world and here in The United States. The field of the original 48 teams has been reduced by last weekend to 32 teams, and the knockout round has begun. The knockout round is like what it sounds. You lose at this round, and you get knocked out. But again, the rest of the tournaments are knockout round. Anyway, as the host nation, The United States got an unbelievably soft group schedule. US was when the tournament started the number 17 ranked team in the world. To get to the knockout round, all he had to do is beat number 27 Australian, number 41 Paraguay. They did lose to number 22 Turkey, but they still moved on. Next up, an even worse team, perhaps far worse will be the the opponent for the round of 32. That's Bosnia Herzegovina, which began the tournament ranked in the sixties in the world. The US, if they lose Wednesday to Bosnia Herzegovina, it would be a massive upset and a massive crushing defeat for soccer in this country. Forget about making it out of the group. If they lose to this team, that would be a massive defeat. But if they win, when they win, they will then advance the round of 16, where the winner of Belgium, Senegal awaits them. Now, each of those are pretty solid soccer team, but neither one of those teams is a monster like Argentina, Spain, France, England, Brazil. If you want a dream, the US beats Bosnia Herzegovina and then pulls a small upset over either Belgium or Senegal. That gets them to the round of eight, the quarter finals of the World Cup. And at that point, we'd see something we have never seen before in America. A United States delirious over the results of soccer matches. And now a word from our title sponsor. Today's episode has been brought to you by Fluent Financial, retire earlier, live better, And by Bob's Steak and Chophouse on Lemon in Dallas and in Craig Ranch in McKinney. Bob's, a Dallas tradition for more than thirty years. If you've enjoyed just wondering, please hit follow and a fresh new episode will land in your mailbox early every Monday, Wednesday and Friday morning. Should you know a sports fan who might like our work? Please share our contact information with that person. Thanks for listening to today's episode of Just Wondering. I'm Norm Hitschkes, and know that every day I'll be just wondering about something. And I'm Mary Hitchgis, and I'll just be wondering too. This is a Stolen Water Media production.