Friday Four Rundown (4/30/21)

It's that time of the week again. As we approach summertime the sports world is buzzing. Night one of the NFL draft is in the books, NBA teams are fighting for seeding as we get close to the playoffs, the quest for Lord Stanley is just about two weeks away, and we are wrapping up the opening month of baseball tonight. The beautiful thing about sports are that there are never any shortage of headline no matter what time of the year it is. Here's the Friday rundown.

NFL

Night one of the NFL draft has come and gone. It was great seeing fans (vaccinated of course) packing it in for a live edition of the draft in Cleveland. Last year just didn't feel the same in commissioner Goodell's living room. Better yet, the commish could hug the players again! It is an underrated tradition on draft day that we lost last year. We've seen everything from the business handshake, to the bro hug, to the big boy's jumping in the air with Goodell. You gotta love it.

Quarterback's are always the headline grabbers and this first round was no different. The first two picks went as expected as the Jags took Clemson star, Trevor Lawrence, #1 overall and the Jets selected BYU QB Zach Wilson. Zach looked like he was ready to go to his best friend's bar mitzvah...that's how young he seemed. The drama started at pick #3. There was a ton of mystery surrounding what the 49ers would do with the pick. After all the talk they decided to go with North Dakota State QB Trey Lance. The dude only started 17 games in college so of course there are critics but he should be in a great situation with Head Coach, Kyle Shanahan, who is well known for his creativity calling offensive plays.

Justin Fields, whom was viewed as the 2nd best QB in the draft by many, slipped to #11 to none other than the Chicago Bears. The Monsters of the Midway have been haunted ever since trading up to #2 to select Mitchell Trubisky. Well, they traded up again, this time with the New York Giants to get their "guy." I really hope this works out for GM Ryan Pace this time as he has taken heat left and right and deservedly so. The fourth and final QB taken in the draft was National Champion Mac Jones. I would have loved to be a fly on the wall in the war room to see Bill Belichick. Many thought Mac was gong to get selected earlier but Bill stayed put at #15 and took Jones. Immediately people jumped on social media to compare him to Tom Brady. The photo of Mac in the Alabama locker room and the combine picture of Brady from 2000 are hilariously comparable. If Bill can even get half of what Tom Brady is in Mac I'm sure he'll take it.

NBA

The goat, (we can have a debate some other time) Lebron James, has been sidelined since March 20th with an ankle injury. James, who has been the textbook definition of durable throughout his illustrious career, has not missed this many games in a season ever. Of course the Lakers have been nothing like themselves without him. Good news is on the horizon in So. Cal. Lebron is listed as questionable tonight against the Kings. It goes without saying but the sooner the better for his return. The Lakers need as many games as possible to gain their chemistry back before the playoffs as they are sliding and sit just two games ahead of the 7 seed. Which of course would now be a play in scenario if they did indeed fall there.

It was a historic night for up and coming player Kevin Porter Jr. out of USC. The 20 year old exploded for 50 points and added 11 dimes to go with it. He is the youngest player ever to have a 50 point double double with assists and is the 4th youngest to go for a 50 burger in league history. He joined some elite company with Lebron, Brandon Jennings (dude was a low-key baller for a short time), and Devin Booker as the only players to score 50 before turning 21. Porter, who has had his fair share of issues off the court has a lot of promise. A rebuilding Rockets squad has something to look forward to with this guy. Keep an eye out for KPJ.

NHL

The Seattle Kraken officially became the 32nd NHL team today. The owners of the soon to be expansion team paid $650 million and now are given the okay to make trades and sign free agents. The expansion draft is set for July 21st and it is exciting times in the great Northwest. While many were hoping this city was going get an NBA franchise back, this is certainly a good start. The Kraken are set for their debut season next year. If they can somehow re-create the success the Knights have had as an expansion team they should have no problem building up a fan base.

MLB

There was a scary moment in Saint Louis Wednesday night as former #1 pick, Bryce Harper, took a nearly 97 mph fast ball off the face. Harper will miss the game tonight against the Mets but is lucky to not be missing more time. Harper said "I definitely had an angel on my side that night, i'm super excited and blessed to have this conversation with you guys right now." Harper stressed that he has no ill feelings towards the Redbirds reliever, Genesis Cabrera. The Phillies are just 12-13 as the firth month closes, but that it good enough for a three way tie at the top in the NL East as nobody has been able to separate from the pack thus far.