Cleaning out the Inbox: Passings

  The time has arrived for another batch of tributes to those who have recently left us.

Goodbye to Wilbur Wood at the age of 84.

Wood was a journeyman pitcher for the Red Sox and Pirates until being acquired by the Chicago White Sox in 1967, where he fine-tuned a seldom-used knuckleball with the help of future Hall of Famer Hoyt Wilhelm, who was on the Chicago staff.

The rarest of rare as a lefthander knuckleballer, Wood would win the Fireman of the Year award for relievers in 1968, but would truly flourish as a workhorse after being moved to the starting rotation in 1971.

Wood would win 20 games or more in each of the seasons from 1971 to 1974, led the American League in victories twice, made the All-Star team three times, and started over 40 games in each of those seasons, as well as in 1975.

Wood was off to a strong start in 1976 when he was line-driven by Detroit's Ron LeFlore, who broke his kneecap. As a result, Wood never regained his previous caliber upon his return in 1977 and 1978.

Goodbye to Bobby Duncum at the age of 81.

Duncum was drafted by the then-St. Louis Cardinals as a linebacker from West Texas A&M in 1967 and would play in four games for the football Redbirds in 1968, but would earn more fame in the wrestling ring as a heel cowboy.

Duncum would receive title chances against both Bruno Sammartino and Bob Backlund for the WWWF crown, would hold titles in Florida, Georgia, and the AWA, and as part of the "Black and Blue Express, with Ken Patera, who were one of the more underrated teams of their era.

Duncum's son, the late Bobby Duncum Jr, was a wrestler with WCW as part of the "West Texas Rednecks" faction.

Goodbye to John Brodie at the age of 90

The 1970 MVP, Brodie, was the third overall pick in the 1957 NFL draft by the San Francisco 49ers from Stanford, and would spend his entire seventeen-year career in the Bay Area.

Brodie was one of the better NFL announcers after his retirement with NBC Sports, forming a great duo with Don Criqui, and was an excellent golfer.

Brodie was on the Senior PGA Tour for thirteen years and won one tournament, the 1991 Pacific Senior Classic.

Brodie was one of the players credited with getting the AFL-NFL merger talks rolling when he signed a huge future contract with the AFL's Houston Oilers.

Those contracts forced the NFL to negotiate the truce, which would lead to the two leagues becoming one.

Goodbye to Floyd Vivino at the age of 74.

Known professionally as "Uncle Floyd, Vivino was the star of the "Uncle Floyd Show" from 1974-1998, a parody of children's shows which was aimed at adults.

Mostly seen in the New York City/New Jersey market, The Uncle Floyd Show did have a period where it was syndicated in other East Coast markets, which is where I saw it following SCTV on Saturday late nights in the early 1980s.

Vivino often appeared in programs filmed in the NYC area and worked as a comic, musician, and radio host after the demise of his show.

Vivino set a Guinness World Record in 1999, when he played a piano continuously for over 24 hours and ran twice as a write-in candidate for Governor of New Jersey in a campaign parody.

Goodbye to Scott Laidlaw at the age of 72.

A fourteenth-round draft pick by the Dallas Cowboys in the 1975 NFL Draft, in one of the best drafts ever by one team (twelve players made the team, including five future Pro Bowlers, and Randy White in the Hall of Fame), Laidlaw was the backup fullback to Robert Newhouse and a standout on special teams.

Laidlaw played in three Super Bowls, winning one, for the Cowboys, and in 1978, Laidlaw replaced an injured Newhouse on Thanksgiving Day for their game against Washington, with Laidlaw rushing for 122 yards and two touchdowns to defeat Washington.

Cavaliers trade Lonzo Ball to Utah

      The Cleveland Cavaliers' mid-season revamp continued with the one move that most saw coming.

Cleveland needed to make roster space for Nae'Qwan Tomlin, who had exceeded his usage on a two-way contract after the trade that brought Keon Ellis and Dennis Schroder to the Cavaliers.

Lonzo Ball was expected to be the replacement for Ty Jerome as the third guard, and with a questionable health record, keeping him on the floor was the concern.

Ball stayed relatively healthy but didn't play well, averaging less than five points per game in thirty-five games

Considering the roster spot and the attempt to continue to get out of the second apron of the salary cap, Ball and his ten-million-dollar cap number were the easiest place to cut.

But who would be willing to take Ball and for what?

The answer was the Utah Jazz, and nothing, as Cleveland literally traded two second-round picks with Ball for nothing but cap relief.

The two second-rounders leave Cleveland without those bargaining chips for years, as Cleveland doesn't have a second rounder until the 2030s, but it was needed to try to move off the apron and make space for a more productive player.

Utah is expected to waive Ball, with Charlotte and Washington expected to have interest in signing him.

Cleveland wanted to keep Tomlin, a young player who is exceeding expectations, and didn't have the time or cap room to nurture Ball and hope he showed improvement.

Not every trade works out, and Cleveland cut their losses before they became too large.

Sometimes, that's the way the ball bounces.

Cavaliers deal Garland for Harden

   The Cleveland Cavaliers are continuing their roster revamp on the run with the acquisition of James Harden from the Los Angeles Clippers.

Cleveland sent Darius Garland and its second-round draft pick in 2026 to the Clippers for Harden.

The thirty-seven year old Harden is far from washed up, averaging twenty-five points and eight assists per game for the Clippers this season.

Darius Garland is ten years younger than Harden, but has struggled with toe injuries over the last two seasons.

Garland has played in only twenty-six games,averaging eighteen points and just under seven assists per game.

I can see pros and cons to the Cavaliers making this trade.

Even at 37, Harden is a better player than Garland.

Harden is a much better passer, will improve Cleveland with the "give and go", will improve Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen down low, and Harden is able to stay on the floor.

Garland as a smaller guard (6'1) has had defensive issues with Donovan Mitchell and although Harden isn't known as a defensive demon, Harden does bring a different dynamic with his size and strength.

However, Garland is ten years younger, and in theory, stay around longer.

Harden has never won a championship and has been noted for his postseason failings, so it's fair to consider that for a team in championship-now mode.

Harden has a player option for 42.9 million for next season and has been seeking a longer term contract.

Cleveland could reach an arrangement with Harden where Harden declines the option but then signs a longer contract for a more reasonable number for the cap-cuffed Cavaliers.

Cleveland is getting closer to getting out of the "Second-Apron" cap penalty, dropping to six million above the level and working out an agreement with Harden along with a potential salary dump of Lonzo Ball and/or Max Strus could move them into the "First-Apron" which would allow further moves.

I don't love the deal but I don't hate it either.

The Cavaliers could be selling Darius Garland low with his injuries dropping his value but it's also possible that they could be receiving something of value before he drops even more.

James Harden brings a gifted offensive player, who I think will make the Cavaliers top three players better.

Will he be enough to lift the Cavaliers into the Eastern Conference title chase?

Maybe, Cleveland will be a dangerous team to play in the playoffs but is he enough to win a title?

Perhaps an Eastern Conference title but not an NBA title.

Boxing Challenge: Junior Middleweight Madness!

    The non-New York side of the boxing weekend was centered around the junior middleweight division, with two titles being unified and another changing hands in a surprising upset.

The upset occurred in Newcastle, England, when former Olympian Josh Kelly upset Bakhram Murtazaliev to win the IBF version of the title via majority decision.

Kelly entered his pro career with plenty of hype, but was stopped by David Avanesyan and while on a seven fight winning streak, had beaten no one of note, while Murtazaliev had destroyed Tim Tszyu in three rounds fifteen months ago.

Kelly was the quicker and sharper fighter and when he survived a fourth round knockdown, Kelly began to take control and even scored a flash knockdown of his own in the ninth.

My issue is the scoring of Steve Gray, not for his scoring of the fight which was 114-113 Kelly same as mine.

It's for his scoring the final round even. 

I hate even rounds and to score the final round of a close fight even is a travesty.

Had Gray scored the final round for Murtazaliev, the fight would have ended in a draw with thee champion retaining the title.

The other scores were 115-111 for Kelly, a bit wide for my tastes, and even at 113-113.

The other title bout in the 154 pound division was in San Juan, Puerto Rico as Xander Zayas unified the WBA and WBO championships with a split decision over Abass Baraou.

Neither fighter was seriously hurt in the fight but I thought Zayas had the better of the action and agreed with the 116-112 scores on two cards for Zayas and the score for Baraou of 116-112 was surprised.

Sunday was the second card for Paramount+ and Zuffa Boxing for a very strong card.

In the main event, former WBC junior welterweight champion Jose Valenzuela fought through a severe cut to win a unanimous decision over Diego Torres.

Torres had his moments, including wobbling Valenzuela in the sixth round but his superior skils allowed him to counter the walk-down aggression of Torres.

All three scores were 99-91 for Valenzela, which I agreed with.

The co-feature was a cracker as Serhii Bohachuk rebounded from his second defeat to Brandon Adams, to win a split decision over Radzhab Butaev.

This fight was contested in front of the other throughout the fight with Bohachuk landing the harder punches and Butaev scoring more often.

Scorecards read 96-94 twice for Bohachuk and 96-94 for Butaev.

My scores was 95-95 even.

In the opener, former WBC light heavywweight champion Oleksandr Gvozdyk knocked down Radislav Kalajdzic down in the first and fourth rounds and badly hurt him in the fifth to build a huge lead on the cards before a stunning seventh round with Kalajdzic dropping the former champion and finishing him off in the seventh.

Kaladzic has always been an exciting fighter and his win might move him into contention in the division.

Gvozdyk's comeback will have to start over and at his age (38), I wouldn't be surprised to see "The Nail" consider retirement.

Boxing Challenge

TRS: 17 Pts(3)

Vince Samano: 17 Pts (3)

Ramon Malpica: 17 Pts (4)

Boxing Challenge:Stevenson dominates Lopez

      The boxing weekend was packed with matches, so packed that the weekend previews were split into two; we will do the same with the results.

We start with the biggest show of the weekend and the performance of the weekend, as Shakur Stevenson ended Teofimo Lopez's reign as the WBO junior welterweight champion with a unanimous decision victory in New York City.

Lopez had struggled against mobile boxers like Sandor Martin and Jamaine Ortiz, and with Stevenson's movement, it was natural to think Lopez would struggle against Stevenson.

Instead, Stevenson stood in front of Lopez and still made himself unable to be hit in a performance so dominant that Lopez appeared to be on a different level.

Stevenson won on all three cards (and mine) at 119-109 and now will have to choose between keeping his WBC lightweight title, WBO junior welterweight title, or even moving to welterweight for a potential bout with Conor Benn, whom Stevenson invited into the ring after the fight.

As for Lopez, I'm not sure he has the strength or the power at welterweight, but the division isn't strong at the moment, so it's possible he could succeed.

In the co-feature, Keyshawn Davis returned as a junior welterweight, knocking out Jamaine Ortiz in the twelfth round.

Davis dropped Ortiz in the eleventh round and finished him in the final stanza.

Ortiz had lost close decisions to Vasyl Lomachenko and Teofimo Lopez and was expected to test Davis, which didn't happen with the best performance of Davis's career.

Davis called out Devin Haney for a fight this year, and that would be interesting.

The best fight of the night was Bruce Carrington winning the vacant WBC featherweight title with a sudden ninth-round knockout of Carlos Castro.

Castro gave Carrington all that he wanted and had the favorite wobbled in one instant, but Carrington was leading on my card 77-75 at the end, and the fight was swinging his way before the knockout.

Heavyweight Jarrell Miller won a split decision over Kingsley Ibeh in a match that will be remembered by most for Miller losing his hairpiece during the fight and fighting the rest of it with a ring of glue around his head for the remainder of the match.

Boxing Challenge

TRS: 13 Pts (7)

Vince Samano: 13 Pts (6)

Ramon Malpica: 12 Pts (4)

Cavaliers acquire Keon Ellis, Dennis Schroeder from Kings

   The Cleveland Cavaliers had been a disappointment this season but had improved of late, winning eight of their last ten games, including a five-game winning streak before a loss in Phoenix on the first day of a five-stop West Coast road swing.

Still, with the team tied for fourth with Toronto for fourth place in the Eastern Conference and with a recent calf injury to Evan Mobley (the second this season), Cleveland seemed like a possible player at the NBA trade deadline, even if their status as a "second-apron" team at the salary cap could make a trade harder to make.

Cleveland found a way to make things work as they sent swingman De'Andre Hunter to the Sacramento Kings and a 2027 second-round draft choice to the Chicago Bulls (for their help in making the dollars work) for guards Keon Ellis and Dennis Schroder.

Cleveland released Luke Travers to free up a roster spot for the new arrivals.

Hunter was the Cavaliers' big deadline acquisition last season, and while he was decent after coming to Cleveland, I thought that with training camp and a better understanding of his teammates, Hunter would break out.

I was wrong, as despite Hunter averaging fourteen points last season and this season, Hunter's shooting has been dreadful, dropping in percentage from 48 percent to 42 overall and from 42 percent down to 30 percent from three point range.

Still, Hunter was excellent last season with Atlanta before being traded to Cleveland, and I'd bet he turns it around with the Kings.

Hunter could be one of those players who play better for a lesser team than he does for a contender, because he is better suited to be one of the focal points of the offense than as a supporting cast member.

Sacramento is doing some cleaning of its own, and Hunter could become one of their top options.

Keon Ellis's numbers are down this season ( eight points to five and forty-eight to thirty-nine percent shooting), but he was playing seventeen minutes a game off the bench, and he's not a bad shooter, averaging forty-six percent and forty-one from three for his career.

Ellis is a top-notch defender, and he'll be a big help on that end of the floor. Ellis is eligible for free agency at the end of the season, so it's possible that Ellis could be a rental player.

The well-traveled Dennis Schroder joins the Cavaliers as his eleventh team in his thirteen year career.

I could see Schroder staying as the third guard, especially if the Cavaliers could find a taker for the tremendously disappointing Lonzo Ball, but I could also see Schroder being moved in another trade if the team isn't finished dealing.

Schroder does bring a veteran's attitude and attitude to a team that could use some nastiness.

Schroder is under contract for three more seasons but only 2026-27 is with guaranteed money.

Schroder is averaging just under thirteen points a game for Sacramento and is shooting forty percent on the year.

Cleveland saves some money under this trade, swapping De'Andre Hunter's 23 million for the sixteen million paid to Ellis and Schroder, which doesn't quite move the Cavaliers out of the second apron but does move them closer to the mark and lessens the current season's luxury tax penalty by a significant margin.

This is a key factor for a team with the highest-paid roster in the league and should Cleveland look at Dennis Schroder (or Lonzo Ball) as a disposable asset in an attempt even get out of their cap level, Cleveland may not be finished trading.

On the whole, I understand the move as the Cavaliers were paying De'Andre Hunter a sizable chunk of money to be disappointing on the floor and didn't want to enter the playoffs gambling on Hunter and Lonzo Ball turning their season around.

Still, despite the lack of production from Hunter, I liked him as a player and I'm sad to see him leave.

I have tons of boxing to write about over the next few days, so I'll be working on those posts next.

Boxing Challenge: Part Two

  We move to the second part of the boxing weekend and the half that isn't at Madison Square Garden, with three of the four junior middleweight titles at stake at two sites.

In Newcastle, England, Bakhram Murtazaliev defends his IBF junior middleweight title against former Olympian Josh Kelly on DAZN.

Murtazaliev knocked out Tim Tszyu in the third round in October 2024 to retain his title in an upset win.

Kelly was knocked out in six by welterweight contender David Avanesyan in 2021 in his only fight above the European level, so Murtazaliev is a deserved heavy favorite.

Top Rank on their FAST channel moves to Puerto Rico for Xander Zayas meeting Abass Baraou in a junior middleweight unification of the WBO (Zayas) and WBA (Baraou) titles.

Both Zayas and Baraou will making their first defenses of titles won last year, and in a division with several solid fighters in need of a standout, the winner could shove their way near the top.

Sunday night in Las Vegas, Zuffa returns with its second card on Paramount+ and a much-improved one with three crossroads bouts.

The main event pits former WBA junior welterweight champion Jose Valenzuela, returning to the ring for the first time since losing the title to Gary Antuanne Russell last year.

Opponent Diego Torres has just one loss, but it was to his best opponent, current IBF lightweight champion Raymond Muratalla, who stopped Torres in eight rounds in 2023.

Two former contenders meet at middleweight as Serhii Bohachuk battles Radzhab Butaev.

Bohachuk was the mandatory challenger for WBC champion Sebastian Fundora before attempting to avenge a loss to Brandon Adams in a stay-busy fight last September.

Adams surprised Bohachuk for the second time, knocking him out of a title chance.

Butaev has fought just twice since his only loss in 2022, a split decision to Eimantas Stanionis.

The winner will move up the ladder, and the loser will take a step back.

Two former victims of Artur Beterbiev face off in the opener as former WBC light heavyweight champion Oleksandr Gvozdyk meets Radivoje Kalajdzic.

Both are attempting to rebound from recent losses, Gvozdyk to David Benavidez, Kalajdzic to David Morrell.

This appears to be a good style match, so it might be a very entertaining fight.

Boxing Challenge

IBF Junior Middleweight Title 12 Rds

Bakhram Murtazaliev vs Josh Kelly

Ramon Malpica: Murtazaliev Unanimous Decision
TRS and Vince Samano: Murtazaliev KO 6

Unification WBA vs WBO Junior Middleweight Titles, 12 Rds

Abass Baraou vs Xander Zayas 

All: Zayas Unanimous Decision

Lightweights 10 Rds

Jose Valenzuela vs Diego Torres

R.L: Valenzuela Unanimous Decision
TRS: Valenzuela KO 9
V.S: Valenzuela KO 4

Middleweights 10 Rds

Serhii Bohachuk vs Radzhab Butaev

R.L and TRS: Bohachuk Unanimous Decision
V.S: Bohachuk KO 4

Light Heavyweights, 10 Rds

Oleksandr Gvozdyk vs Radivoje Kalajdzic

All: Gvozdyk Unanimous Decision