Breaking Laws, Breaking Records and Belichick Getting Snubbed

Happy Friday! The weekend has finally arrived. We have great football lined up for Sunday and some awesome golf on Saturday to bridge the gap between Friday and football.

Let’s dig into a few headlines and get you out of the office!

Sinner Stuns Djokovic

Novak Djokovic lost at the Australian Open for the first time since 2018 as Italian fourth seed Jannik Sinner reached his first Grand Slam final.

The 36 year old Djokovic lost 6-1(1st set) 6-2(2nd set) 6-3(4th set). Sinner did drop one set to the Serbian, and it was the 3rd set that Djokovic took to a tiebreak game and won 8-6.

It ends Djokovic's bid for a record-extending 11th Aussie Open title and a 25th major to put him ahead of Margaret Court.

22-year-old Sinner will face Daniil Medvedev in Sunday's final. Medvedev had to fight back against Alexander Zverev after falling behind 0-2 in the first two sets. Medvedev won the last three sets 7-6, 7-6, and then 6-3.

Atlanta Snubs Belichick

It was all fun and games for the media when talking about Bill Belichick. Are the Falcons really interviewing Bill? Isn’t Bill really interviewing them? Blah Blah Blah

Well, the Falcons found their dude, and whether or not the new guy can win is beside the point. The point is the Falcons didn’t think that Belichick was the guy for them.

Who did the Falcons hire? They grabbed Rams defensive coordinator Raheem Morris, and I like the fit. Bring in an offensive guy and a new QB, and the Falcons can likely win the NFC South next year,

So why is Bill not getting hired or even getting interviews? Does nobody want a 72-year-old head coach? Possibly. I think it’s more of a control thing. Bill probably wants a lot of control, and he will try to bring the Patriot Way to wherever he ends up. That’s not something everyone wants to go with. If anything, wouldn’t other teams have interviewed Bill to ask the question, “What would you fix for next year”? It seems like it’s free advice.

Whatever happens with Belichick is just that…whatever. All I hope is that some big broadcast does not sign him because that will be the least amusing thing to watch on a Sunday.

A 3-Point Battle?

Did you guys know that Sabrina Ionescu holds the record for most points in a 3-point shooting challenge? I certainly didn’t!

You would think it would be the greatest shooter of all time, Steph Curry, but it’s not.

The truth is, I don’t think Steph has really tried to hit the high score in a 3-point competition, but apparently, he’s willing to battle it out with Ionescu during the all-star break. The two shooters will face off at All-Star Weekend in Indianapolis in a 3-point shootout. We don’t know about the setup yet, but we will discuss it in February.

Check out Ionescu’s epic 3-point shootout here. 🏀 ☔️ 

LeBron Becomes A Double Decade All-Star

Half of the readers here probably hate LeBron. The other half probably doesn’t love him either. Either way, he’s had a remarkable career that has not only been marked by his achievements but also by his longevity.

LeBron can add a new mark to his career as he has been selected for his 20th straight All-Star game. This breaks the record for most all-star appearances, as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was a 19-time selection.

Here are the rest of the starters for the all-star game.

Eastern Conference

• Frontcourt: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks 

• Frontcourt: Joel Embiid, Philadelphia 76ers

• Frontcourt: Jayson Tatum, Boston Celtics

• Backcourt: Tyrese Haliburton, Indiana Pacers

• Backcourt: Damian Lillard, Milwaukee Bucks

Western Conference

• Frontcourt: LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers 

• Frontcourt: Nikola Jokić, Denver Nuggets

• Frontcourt: Kevin Durant, Phoenix Suns

• Backcourt: Luka Dončić, Dallas Mavericks

• Backcourt: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City Thunder

Check out this tweet by the NBA on how the voting went down and how the starters for the all-star game were selected.

Day 3 @ Torrey Pines

After two days where the pros got their shot at both the North and South courses at Torrey Pines, players who made the cut will tee it up today in round three on the South Course. It’s a tough day for the golfers who played pretty decent on some softer conditions this week and could score low, as the cut line was -3. Golfers who came in at -2 are getting sent home, or really, they’ll just head up the California Coast a bit to get ready for Pebble Beach next week.

So, who missed the cut? Some surprising misses were Jason Day, Collin Morikawa, Billy Horschel, and Sungjae Im.

Who barely made it? Will Zalatoris, Keegan Bradley, and 14 other golfers came in at exactly -3 after the first two days.

Who are we excited to watch on the final two days? Anything can happen at Torrey Pines in the final rounds, but we’ve got nine golfers who are near the top and within four strokes of each other. Stephan Jaeger is sitting in the lead at -12, Nicolai Hojgaard is at -11, and some other guys you might recognize, like Tony Finau and Michael Kim, are at -9. We’re hoping for an epic finish tomorrow as anything can happen when you’re golfing next to the Pacific.

How can you watch the 3rd round today? The third round will be streamed on ESPN+ with action starting around 12:30 pm ET. You can also catch the broadcast from 3-5 pm ET on The Golf Channel and from 5-8 pm ET on CBS.

Do You Really Want This Story?

Just so you know, I think half of this story is dumb, and the other half is even dumber.

Former LSU football player and current New England Patriot Kayshon Boutte has been arrested and charged with computer fraud and gaming for a person under 21 by Louisiana State Police.

Here’s what happened. Boutte used an alias to get around the legal age to bet in Louisiana. He made over 8,900 illegal bets during that time period (damn, that’s a lot).

Here’s why I think it’s dumb. Boutte was like 20 years old at the time of these illegal activities. So, he wasn’t the legal age of 21. I’m not sure I really care about any of that.

Here’s the dumber part. Boutte bet on NCAA football games 17 times, and 6 of those times, he bet on LSU football games. He was playing for LSU at the time!!! You can’t make this up.

This is the dumbest part of it all. He did all this scootin and bootin (idk what I’m even writing) to get around the laws and you would think he wanted to cover his tracks. NOPE! All of his usernames for the gambling sites were just KayshonBoutte###xxx. 🤯 

I hope he at least won money to pay for all these legal fees he’s about to incur!

What’s On TV Today?

NHL

🏒 Vegas Golden Knights @ NY Rangers, 7 pm ET on ESPN

Men’s College Basketball

🏀 Michigan State @ #13 Wisconsin, 8 pm ET on FS1

Enjoy your Friday and your happy hours!

We’ll return this weekend with a preview of the NFL Conference Championships.

Adios!

-The Daily Breakroom