Free Agent Frenzy

🏀 You couldn’t have had a worse week than Malik Beasley. The Pistons forward was on the verge of signing a $42 million extension with Detroit when news broke that he was being investigated by the NBA for betting on games that he was playing in. Safe to say that new deal was quickly yanked off the table.

• Reports have also surfaced that Beasley owed pretty much everyone in his life money — including his barber and dentist. We’re not experts, but that feels like a bad sign.
  

• The internet is already digging up clips of him trying really hard in Piston losses to cover the betting spread…

🎾 It’s a record-breaking upset season at Wimbledon. Eight top 10 ranked players — four on the women's and four on the men's — were shown the door in the first round of the tournament, the most top ten upsets ever in the first two days of a major.

💰 SGA is about to make $900,000 per game. After signing a four year, $285 million contract to stay in Oklahoma City, the reigning MVP will now make over $71 mil a season. To put that absurd number into perspective, SGA will make Connor McDavid’s entire salary in just 14 games. 

🎮 The new NCAA basketball video game will pay schools based on how often their team is played with. This is great news for fans who want to give their favourite school some extra money to pay players. 

🏎️ Formula One’s best driver looks like he’s jumping ship. Red Bull’s Max Verstappen is reportedly on the cusp of signing a deal to drive for the team’s main rival, Mercedes, next season. For non-racing fans, this would be like prime Tom Brady signing with the Bills. 

🏈 Deshaun Watson says he’s taking rookie QB Shedeur Sanders under his wing. Which, if you know anything about Deshaun Watson, seems like a terrible idea.  

It’s been a busy week of star athletes chasing rings, paycheques, and tax-free states — not necessarily in that order.

Let’s dive into some of the highlights on the hockey side. 

• The defending champion Florida Panthers managed to sign all three of their big free agents, Sam Bennett, Brad Marchand and Aaron Ekblad. A three-peat somehow feels inevitable for this team. 

• Mitch Marner is a Vegas Goldenknight. A tumultuous tenure with Toronto came to an end after the Leafs traded his rights to Vegas for Nicolas Roy. Marner had a pretty rocky relationship with the fans in Toronto, but at least he wrote them a heartfelt goodbye letter…

• Corey Perry — who has lost 5 of the last 6 Stanley Cups — found a new home in LA. Lock in your bets now for the Kings to make (and lose) the finals next year.  

There’s been no shortage of offseason news on the NBA side. 

• The Milwaukee Bucks waived their nine-time All Star Damian Lillard to make room for the Pacers Myles Turner. Given that their MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo didn’t sound thrilled about the move, we don't think the front office ran this one by him.
  

• Kevin Durant was already traded to the Rockets, but that deal reportedly could still be expanded to include another team.

• There seems to be some LeProbems in LA. Unimpressed with the Lakers young roster, LeBron James is apparently looking at his options beyond next season. 

• The Clippers signed James Harden to a two year deal. With Kawhi Leonard, Paul George and now Harden, this team would be impossible to beat if it was 2016. 

With most of the top free agents coming off the board in the first 24 hours of the offseason, the trade market could heat up pretty quickly. And with baseball now the only sport to watch, let's hope these offseason carousels keep spinning for our own entertainment.

On this day in 2004, Roger Federer beat American Andy Roddick to claim the second of his five consecutive Wimbledon titles. Fed went on to win tennis’ biggest tournament a record eight times, beating Roddick in three of those finals (surely, he doesn't still have nightmares about Federer).

Alright, that’s enough yelling for one Friday.

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