The passing of the NBA torch
Wembanyama battles chaos with restraint in dominant performance, Matt Waldron is helpless against the Brewers, SDFC could really use a win, San Diego proposes even less public bathrooms, and more!
As previously mentioned, I have been mostly bored by this year’s version of the NBA Playoffs. I knew there was a very good chance that would change as we got further along and the stakes grew bigger, and that is mostly happening.
Two teams have already punched their ticket to the conference finals, with the Thunder sweeping the Lakers and the Knicks sweeping the 76ers.
The Pistons and Cavaliers are battling it out to see who will face the Knicks in the next round and, as we sometimes see with teams that haven’t reached this level of success before, neither seems able to win a playoff game on the road. The Pistons, who finished the season as the #1 seed in the Eastern Conference, hold the advantage there.
But the series the everyone has been waiting for since December is the Western Conference Finals, which is likely to be between the reigning champions (Thunder) and the team that gave them fits all season (Spurs). Apologies to the Timberwolves, who again seem like a hellacious postseason team (that is falling apart physically) up against a generational superstar.
If you’re unfamiliar with the term “sandwich generation”, I envy you. The sandwich generation speaks to a problem caused by people having children later in their life than previous generations and elders living longer than ever before because of advances in modern medicine. Where people used to be able to care for their aging parents after their children had grown up and left the house, they’re now sandwiched between caring for young children and aging parents at the same time.
This feels like a little bit of a sandwich season for the NBA. The elders of the league (LeBron, Kevin Durant, Steph Curry, Kawhi Leonard, etc.) haven’t retired yet, but they’re not quite good enough to compete for championships anymore. They’re still here and need to be accounted for. Meanwhile, a new generation of NBA superstars has taken the league from them (Wembanyama, SGA, Luka Doncic, Anthony Edwards, Cade Cunningham, etc.) and seem ready to hold tight to their position at the top for a while, even if they’re still learning the ins-and-outs of playing that role.
Maybe that’s why it’s been difficult to get a handle on this year’s NBA Playoffs. Maybe we need the elders of the league to officially be eliminated from competition before we could move on. Maybe we need to figure out what a post-LeBron NBA looks and feels like for the first time in 20+ years. If that’s the case, the next couple of weeks will help set the course.
Which is to say, it’s finally getting fun.
Now, onto the links…
San Diego Padres
After tough outing, where does Waldron fit in Padres’ plans? - MLB.com
Waldron’s line was probably a bit harsh. He lasted just 2 2/3 innings, following opener Bradgley Rodriguez, and he allowed six runs on eight hits. But Waldron dealt with some brutal batted-ball luck, as things spiraled on him in a five-run fourth.
Then again, so much of that was self-inflicted. Waldron put himself in poor counts and couldn’t put away hitters. He walked Jake Bauers. Presented with a free out, Waldron misread a David Hamilton bunt. Then, the inning unraveled.
Padres Daily: Better against the starter; Castellanos keeps feeling it; Tatis’ long fly; bullpen does its job - San Diego Union-Tribune
A game after hitting his longest fly ball of the season, Tatis hit his second longest last night.
His problem is he keeps hitting those fly balls to center field, so they were caught and he remains homerless.
Last night’s drive in the fifth inning left his bat at 104.5 mph with a too-high 40 degree launch angle and went 374 feet. His blast on Sunday was 105.8 mph with a 37 degree launch angle and traveled a projected 393 feet.
Padres Cut Ties With Former Dodgers Outfielder After Disappointing Tenure - Sports Illustrated
On Monday, the Padres officially released Verdugo from his minor league contract, according to his official transactions log. Verdugo went 1-for-5 with a walk in his two Cactus League contests, then was assigned to the team’s Arizona Complex League to begin the regular season.
Now, two months after it began, Verdugo’s time in the organization is over.
According to Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune, Verdugo suffered a shoulder injury that is expected to require season-ending surgery.
San Diego FC
Well, It Wasn’t A Loss - Chromatic FC
Big picture, San Diego continues to build and has received a point in back-to-back matches. This is a big accomplishment considering all the injuries the team is dealing with right now. San Diego does not have the healthiest squad, and getting to the World Cup break is going to be key to finishing out the rest of the 19 matches that remain on schedule after the break. The wins will come eventually, but for now, this squad is surviving with what they have.
Tom Krasovic: San Diego FC’s goal Wednesday is simple — just win, baby - San Diego Union-Tribune
It’s winning time for a club that’s winless in its last nine Major League Soccer matches.
Even bad things must come to an end, and there’s sound reason to believe SDFC will come out on top Wednesday night in Mission Valley for its first Major League Soccer victory since — yikes — March 7.
If a worthy but reduced Austin FC denies SDFC the three points, the breakthrough should come within San Diego’s two home games that follow ahead of the 2026 World Cup.
SDFC GAM/TAM Midseason Edition 2026 - Chromatic FC
San Diego FC began January with $5.5 million in GAM, which was reduced by $200,000 for Bombino’s buy option and $170,000 for a trade with Charlotte. Another $2.9 million is required for the current roster. However, there could be gains in U-22 GAM for maintaining a U-22 roster profile, likely amounting to just under one million (estimated at $950,000). Additionally, while the fee for the Paddy McNair transfer was undisclosed, if San Diego received $1 million in cash, they could had converted 90% of that into an additional $900,000 in GAM.
With all that said, San Diego should have about $4 million in GAM to play with for the summer transfer window.
Here’s what Chucky Lozano will make not to play for San Diego FC in 2026 - San Diego Union-Tribune
The Major League Soccer Players Association, as it does twice annually, released its spring batch of salary numbers Tuesday for every player on every team. SDFC ranks fifth in total team compensation at $24.4 million, behind Inter Miami ($54.6 million), LAFC ($32.7 million), Atlanta United ($27.9 million), LA Galaxy ($26.4 million) and Vancouver ($24.6 million).
Subtract Lozano’s $9.33 million in guaranteed compensation, and SDFC — which sits 13th in the Western Conference heading into Wednesday’s match against Austin FC at Snapdragon Stadium — plunges to 23rd out of the 30 MLS clubs in payroll at $15.1 million.
NBA
Victor Wembanyama counters Timberwolves’ ‘rage baiting’ with cold-blooded revenge - The Athletic
Victor Wembanyama could see a blue Tesla Model X waiting for him on the tarmac, gull-wing door in the air, somehow high enough to reach his eye level. Gregg Popovich stepped out, waiting for his young pupil a day ahead of what would become a 126-97 Game 5 win that gave the Spurs a 3-2 series lead.
He knew his first NBA coach would have an earful to say, as he always does. Just by showing up, Popovich made a statement before Wembanyama even got a chance to say hi. Wembanyama stood there and listened, an arm behind his back, vulnerable, attentive, present.
Victor Wembanyama Must Be Seen To Be Believed - Defector
San Antonio rolled Minnesota in Game 5, 127-96, and while you can see the faint outline of Wemby’s impact circumscribed within the stats, that will only get you so far. I found his Game 5 performance spectacular. To even say he was the best player on the court undersells it. He seemed to be the only player on the court. It felt so different from Game 4’s bombastic frenzy. This game felt contained, never in competitive or aesthetic jeopardy. This is the Wemby effect. When I watch the Spurs, I find myself straying from the visual tenets of how to watch the game and focusing solely on Wembanyama. I don’t end up missing anything, because everyone on the court is doing the same. Maybe that’s the way in to describing what makes him singular.
76ers part ways with Daryl Morey after another disappointing season, head coach Nick Nurse to remain with Philadelphia - Yahoo Sports
After cutting his teeth with the Houston Rockets, Daryl Morey was supposed to take the next step in his career and lead the Philadelphia 76ers to a championship. Instead, the team endured ups and down during Morey’s tenure, leading to the executive’s dismissal on Tuesday.
The news ends Morey’s six-year run with the franchise.
Heaven Help Us, The Thunder Have Yet Another Dude - Defector
It feels faintly ridiculous that the Thunder, awash as they are in so many surplus lottery picks that they won’t even be able to roster all of them going forward, could find a reliable starter with the 38th pick and then sign him to a below-market deal right before he broke out for the world to see, but that’s the sort of move that makes Oklahoma City the best organization in the NBA these days. Also, it’s not like Mitchell was hiding. The Big West, where he played his college ball, is not Division III, and when you go back and read Mitchell’s college scouting reports, everyone was pretty clear that he’s an extremely precise player with great vision and a well-rounded game suited to the modern NBA. There were some minor quibbles about his age—he played three years of college ball and turned 22 the day before the 2024 draft began, making him a relative ancient by today’s standards—and twitchiness, though Oklahoma City clearly saw his gifts and fast-tracked him to a huge role.
Jason Collins, 1st openly gay NBA player, dies of brain cancer at 47 - ESPN
Jason Collins, the NBA’s first openly gay player who served as a global ambassador for the sport for the past decade, has died of brain cancer, his family said Tuesday. He was 47.
Collins told ESPN in November that he had been diagnosed with Stage 4 glioblastoma, one of the deadliest forms of brain cancer. He traveled to Singapore this past winter to receive experimental treatments not yet authorized in the United States. Those treatments were effective enough for him to return home, attend NBA All-Star Weekend events in Los Angeles and go to a game at his alma mater, Stanford.
But the cancer returned recently, and Collins died peacefully at his Los Angeles home, surrounded by his family.
Grizzlies forward Brandon Clarke dies at age 29 - ESPN
LAPD sources confirmed to ABC News that Clarke was found dead from a possible drug overdose Monday in a home located in Los Angeles’ San Fernando Valley. Narcotics were found at the scene, and there was no evidence of foul play, sources told ABC News.
Odds & Ends
Were we all too harsh to Ronda Rousey at the end of her UFC career? - Yahoo Sports
Do we owe Rousey’s body of work a reexamination? We were unfairly harsh to her at the time? Does her MMA legacy deserve better than the treatment it’s gotten over the last decade?
There are bound to be those who say no just based on skepticism toward her explanation. Migraines? Really? Plus, doesn’t every fighter have their own excuses after a loss? If you let them tell it, no MMA fighter has ever legitimately lost a fight. This is nothing new.
Rousey, for her part, seems resigned to that response. “There’s a lot of people out there who think I’m making it up or don’t believe me or whatever,” she told Helwani. “Neurological problems are an injury that nobody else can see.”
Lane Kiffin’s Decision To Abandon Ole Miss Was Actually Smart And Good, According To Lane Kiffin - Defector
What made people so angry at him—aside from using Ole Miss and a hot new yoga body to rehab his head-coaching stock—is that he abandoned a winning team, one that could’ve competed for a national championship, and in doing so basically said he thinks seasons like that are a total fluke for a school like Ole Miss. To pretend this should not have affected his reputation there is disingenuous. In contrast, Curt Cignetti could lose every game from now on, and he’ll still forever be the guy who brought a national championship to Indiana. Sometimes a chance at immortality is a better bet than a guarantee of a bigger NIL budget.
Countywide Tijuana River tax measure edges toward ballot - North County Pipeline
A proposed county sales tax framed around the Tijuana River sewage crisis would fund broader healthcare and public safety programs, raising questions about scope, accountability and timing
Nearly 40 Public Restrooms Would Close Under Budget Proposal - Voice of San Diego
Mayor Todd Gloria’s proposed budget would close dozens of public restrooms in some of San Diego’s most heavily trafficked and popular tourist destinations.
San Diego is already infamous for its lack of toilets. If adopted, these cuts would mark the most dramatic rollback of public restrooms since Gloria vowed to expand access in 2021.
At least 38 public restrooms in Downtown, Balboa Park, Mission Bay and local beaches would be closed under the current plan, according to an Independent Budget Analyst report. These areas, which are heavily trafficked by tourists and locals alike, currently house 64 public restrooms – which means the number would be cut by more than half.