Salt Lake City wants in
Good morning, all. I hope your week is off to a terrific start.
The state of Utah is not messing around. For decades home to the NBA’s Utah Jazz, the state now wants to house MLB and NHL teams.
In case you missed it, the Utah state legislature approved a bill that would allocate $2 billion for construction of a new baseball stadium and a new hockey arena. The money is contingent on the state landing a MLB franchise and an NHL team. Both teams would be located in Salt Lake City. The bill, receiving overwhelming bipartisan support, now heads to Gov. Spencer Cox’s desk.
With NHL franchises Arizona and Winnipeg having arena and attendance problems, a commitment by Utah will certainly capture the interest of NHL leaders. Sooner or later, MLB will expand and Salt Lake City will be ready. You could also make the case Utah could be in play for the beleaguered Oakland Athletics. Owners have approved that franchise’s relocation to Las Vegas, but stadium renderings have yet to be released and the approval of a measure, paving the way for a Vegas stadium is being challenged by two groups who are pushing for education over ballparks via a referendum.
The bottom line is if Gov. Cox signs the bill and the Las Vegas stadium plan stalls, the Athletics just might look to Utah for their new home. You could certainly make a case the process of attracting a franchise to Salt Lake City is farther along than Las Vegas.
Quarterback potpourri
The NFL draft is slated to start April 25 with a plethora of first-rate quarterbacks expected to go early in the first round. For weeks stories have been floated suggesting the Chicago Bears, who have the number one pick, will trade their QB Justin Fields and draft USC’s quarterback Caleb Williams. Adding to the backdrop is the number of NFL free agents quarterbacks there for the right price.
Here is a list of quarterbacks who will be free agents or likely available in a trade: Kirk Cousins, Joe Flacco, Carson Wentz, Mason Rudolph, Tyrod Taylor, Russell Wilson, Ryan Tannehill, Jacoby Brissett, Jimmy Garoppolo, Zach Wilson, Mac Jones, Sam Darnold, Drew Lock, Josh Dobbs, Davis Mills, Baker Mayfield, Bailey Zappe and Fields. I probably have even missed a few.
The point is a team could draft a QB and then sign or trade for one of the above quarterbacks, while the draft choice serves as an understudy. This year’s draft provides numerous scenarios and now that the NFL Combine is over, expect plenty of content, dealing with the various quarterback possibilities, leading up to April 25.
‘March Madness’ could change
We are on the verge of NCAA basketball tournament time but you have to wonder how long the current “March Madness” system will be in place. With college players now able to take advantage of the NIL and the opportunity to transfer to other schools after each season, the prospects of a Cinderella team making a move in the tournament are reduced.
More than likely a “student-athlete” doing well at a mid-major school will be gobbled up by an elite program the next season. One college coach, whose school is in a mid-major conference, told former talk show host now podcaster Mike Francesa he feels as if he is managing a minor league baseball team, preparing a player for the big leagues.
What does this mean for the tournament? Soon it will be just the Power 5 schools battling for the trophy. Throw in the fact that these schools all have top notch football programs and it makes you wonder where that leaves UConn, whose football program is independent? With UMass planning to leave the Atlantic 10 for the Mid-American Conference, UConn and Notre Dame are the only remaining schools whose football teams are not affiliated with a conference. UConn is the defending national champion in men’s college basketball and poised to repeat, but if the football program languishes and they are not accepted into a Power 5 conference, they could be on the outside looking in.
Enjoy the madness. The system under which it operates is likely to change, before the decade is out.
That is going to do it for this week’s newsletter. As always, thank you for reading it, feel free to share it and have a terrific week.
DAN LOVALLO