Cleaning out the Inbox

 Time to clean out the inbox with a few notes of interest.

My favorite soft drink is going to change its flavor.

7up has announced plans to change its Lemon-Lime flavor to "Lime-Lemon," with a stronger lime flavor.

Since 7up is my favorite drink, this distresses me, and we shall see if the new taste keeps it in the top position in the rankings.

The new version of 7up is expected to debut at any time.

The Athletic writes about the rebuilding of Sheffield Wednesday as one of the biggest clubs in English soccer, attempting to come back from insolvency.

Sheffield Wednesday was dropped from the Championship to League One for the new season after winning only two of forty-six games in a season that saw the team deducted points for their financial woes.

Sheffield Wednesday is now under new ownership in America's David Storch, who is throwing himself into a task that involves personnel and a decaying stadium, in an effort to avoid dropping further down the ladder to League Two at the end of the season.

A recent meteorite that smashed through the roof of a New Jersey home is reported to contain the building blocks of life.

ABC News reports the meteorite is a CM 1/2 Carbonaceous Chondrite, a rare and primitive meteorite, and is one of the most scientifically valuable meteorites ever recovered.

People Magazine writes of a home for sale in Kentucky that looks like a time capsule from the 1970s.

The condition of the home was described as pristine, with walls and floors covered with bright red shag carpet.

The three-bedroom home was on the market for only one week before selling for 360,000 dollars.

Times of India writes that the Wild Boar problem started in the southern United States, and it traces back to 1912, when a handful of scared boars were imported for a private hunting ranch in North Carolina.

The boars jumped the fence and escaped into the wild, eventually interbreeding with domesticated hogs to develop a tough, rugged hog that became the boar we know today, an ecological destroyer.

Cleaning out the Inbox; Passings

    It's time to recognize some stars who have recently left us and offer a tribute to their careers.

Goodbye to Dory Funk Jr at the age of 85.

One half of the only brothers to hold the NWA title with brother Terry, Dory Jr's reign ran from 1969 (winning from Gene Kiniski) to 1973 (losing to Harley Race) and was the second longest to only Lou Thesz.

Dory Jr, held many regional titles and was the key American in dealing with All Japan Pro Wrestling after losing the championship.

Funk's matches with Jack Brisco in the 1970s are considered classics, with the two battling through Funk's title reign and later Brisco's championship period as the challenger.

Funk's solid and deliberate style, with more sports-based interviews, was very much of his time, and as time passed, it was brother Terry, whose wild brawling style and crazed interviews adapted better to the changes in pro wrestling.

Goodbye to Don Nelson at the age of 86.

A standout as a player and as a coach, Nelson won five championships with the Boston Celtics, and although he never won a championship as a coach, his 1,335 wins rank second all time behind Gregg Popovich.

Nelson's number 19 is retired by the Celtics, and his final season saw the Celtics win the NBA title in six games over the Phoenix Suns.

As a coach, Nelson coached for thirty-one years with the Bucks, Warriors, Knicks, and Mavericks and is one of only two coaches to win 250 games with three franchises.

Goodbye to Cozell McQueen at the age of 64.

McQueen's NBA career was brief, consisting of three games with the 1986-87 Detroit Pistons, but McQueen will forever be remembered as the center for the 1983 National Champion N.C. State Wolfpack, who guarded such collegiate standouts as Virginia's Ralph Sampson and Houston's Hakeem Olajuwon.

It is McQueen, who is shown sitting above the rim as the Pack celebrated their miracle win over Houston in the 1983 title game.

Goodbye to Butch Huskey at the age of 54.

Huskey turned down a scholarship to Oklahoma as a tight end to sign with the New York Mets and hit 55 homers in parts of five seasons with the Mets, 24 of those in 1997.

Huskey would play for four teams in two seasons after leaving the Mets in 1999, and his big-league career was over after the 2000 season.

Goodbye to Billy Ray Smith Jr. at the age of 64.

The son of former Baltimore Colts defensive lineman Billy Ray Smith Sr,, Smith was the fifth overall pick from Arkansas by the San Diego Chargers in the classic 1983 NFL Draft.

Smith played his entire ten-year career with the Chargers and had eleven sacks for the Bolts in 1986, but he was never the impact player that you would expect from the fifth overall pick.

Goodbye to Magic Weisner at the age of 27.

Magic Weisner just missed winning the 2002 Preakness Stakes from far off the pace, finishing second with a strong late rally to finish second by half a length to Kentucky Derby winner War Emblem.

The Maryland-bred started the race at odds of 33-1 and likely would have been higher had the Preakness been anywhere other than Maryland.

Magic Weisner would finish fourth in the Belmont Stakes before a win in the Ohio Derby and another second to War Emblem in the Haskell Invitational, after which he contracted West Nile Virus, almost losing his life.

Cavaliers trade Dennis Schroder to Charlotte

   The Cleveland Cavaliers' off-season was all about trying to bring LeBron James back to Cleveland, but when James decided to take his talents to Philadelphia, Cleveland had very little to show for any changes to the roster.

Cleveland agreed to a deal with Mario Hezonja to bring him back to the league after a hiatus that began in the 2019-2020 season, but Hezonja averaged only 7 points and 3 rebounds over his 5 NBA seasons, so not a huge upgrade there.

The Cavaliers trade of veteran guard Dennis Schröder to Charlotte for guard Tre Mann isn't about Mann as much as getting a salary off the roster to possibly land one of the two wings who have been rumored to have interest from Cleveland.

The Cavaliers have been consistently mentioned as a major player in discussions to land Peyton Watson of the Denver Nuggets and/or Jonathan Kuminga of the Atlanta Hawks, and with Schröder in line to earn 14.5 million over each of the next two seasons, he was the most likely target to create cap space.

Schroder averaged eight points and four assists in thirty games with Cleveland after being acquired with Keon Ellis from Sacramento for DeAndre Hunter.

Schroder will be remembered best by Cleveland fans for his 19 points in game five of the playoffs against Toronto in leading the Cavaliers to a big win.

Charlotte will be the 12th team that Schroder has played for in his NBA career.

Tre Mann is a 6'4 guard who was selected 18th overall by Oklahoma City in the 2021 draft out of Florida.

The twenty-five-year-old Mann averaged 5.5 points and 1.6 assists per game in fifty-three games for the Hornets, averaging twelve minutes per game.

I'm not sure if Mann figures into the Cavaliers' plans for 2026-27, as he could be included in possible deals with the Nuggets or Hawks to help the numbers work.

Should Mann survive the off-season, he will battle Craig Porter for the backup point guard position.

Boxing Challenge: McKenna wins 160 pound gold

    Dublin, Ireland, hosted the only two fights in the boxing challenge last week, and both were dull and hard to get through. 

In the main event, Aaron McKenna won a unanimous decision over  Etinosa Olina to win the IBF middleweight title, which was stripped from Janibek Alimkhanuly for failing a drug test.

McKenna's win was dull, but Callum Walsh's unanimous decision over Tyler Denny was worse.

Boxing Challenge

TRS: 90 Pts (3)

Ramon Malpica: 76 Pts (2)

Vince Samano: 60 Pts (0)

 

Boxing Challenge

  The middleweight division may be the weakest in boxing right now, and the division's status shows with two unbeaten and mostly untested fighters meeting for the IBF title, which was stripped from Janibek Alimkhnauly for a positive test for PED's.

The home crowd in Dublin, Ireland, will be biased towards their fighter, Aaron McKenna, who owns a solid win over former junior middleweight champion Liam Smith, but few other noteworthy wins, while his opponent, Etinosa Olina of Italy, lacks any interesting wins, and his win entering this fight was over a fighter with a 19-33 record.

In the co-feature, unbeaten middleweight Callum Walsh meets light-punching Tyler Denny, who has stopped only one opponent in his career.

Boxing Challenge

Vacant IBF Middleweight Title. 12 Rds 

Aaron McKenna vs Etinosa Olina

Ramon Malpica: Olina Unanimous Decision

TRS: McKenna Unanimous Decision

Vince Samano: 

Middleweights. 10 Rds

Callum Walsh vs Tyler Denny 

R.l; Walsh Unanimous Decision

TRS: Walsh KO 4

V.S:

Boxing Challenge: Zepeda zaps Roach, Muratalla retains title.

     From the better late than never department, William Zepeda bounced back from his loss to Shakur Stevenson with a tremendous win over Lamont Roach to win the WBC lightweight title that was stripped from Stevenson.

I gave Roach the first two rounds, but only one round after that, as Zepeda's overwhelming barrage of punches was far too much for Roach to overcome.

My 118-110 was the same as one judge, with the other two scoring 117-111.

Raymond Muratalla won an easy if workmanlike decision over Robson Conceicao to retain his IBF version of the lightweight title.

After the win (119-109 on two cards and 118-110 on the third), Muratalla announced plans to move to the junior welterweight division.

Boxing Challenge

TRS: 87 Pts (2)

Ramon Malpica: 74 Pts (4)

Vince Samano: 60 Pts (2)

Boxing Challenge

     It's a lightweight title doubleheader on TNT in the boxing challenge.

The vacant WBC title, which was stripped from Shakur Stevenson, will be filled after William Zepeda meets Lamont Roach in the main event.

Zepeda hasn't fought since losing to Shakur Stevenson for this title last July, while Roach hasn't fought since his December draw with Issac Cruz.

I think the pressuring style of Zepeda and the boxer/puncher mentality of Roach make a good mix, and this should be a very close and intriguing fight.

The co-feature pairs IBF champion Raymond Muratalla against former WBC junior lightweight champion Robson Conceicao.

The unbeaten Muratalla earned his best victory in January with his decision win over former Olympic gold medalist Andy Cruz, while Conceicao has won two lower-level fights in his native Brazil since dropping his title to O'Shaquie Foster.

The hope is perhaps the victors in the two fights can be matched next in a unification fight.

Boxing Challenge

Vacant WBC Lightweight Title, 12 rds 

William Zepeda vs Lamont Roach

Ramon Malpica and Vince Samano: Zepeda Unanimous Decision

TRS: Roach Split Decision

IBF Lightweight Title. 12 Rds

Raymond Muratalla vs Robson Conceicao

R.L and TRS:Muratalla Unanimous Decision

V.S: Conceicao Unanimous Decision