Tradition's Finest Episode 127 - The "Cinderella Story" Episode

Welcome Back to the Tradition's Finest Podcast! Episode 127 - The "Cinderella Story" Episode includes a discussion of the following sports-related topics: - NCAA: News & Storylines - - NCAA College Basketball: "Holloway's Not-So-Holiday:" Authorities reportedly found 2.1 pounds of marijuana in University of Alabama basketball star Aden Holloway's apartment when he was arrested on a felony drug possession charge Monday morning, according to the charging documents obtained by ESPN on Tuesday - - So why is the amount relevant?. . .**NOTE: The amount discovered in the arrest is significant because any amount of marijuana above 2.2 pounds - or a kilogram (kg) - in the state of Alabama can result in a drug trafficking charge, whether or not there are clear signs of an intent to distribute - - Holloway, who was "removed from campus," and is not with the team just days prior to the onset of the 2026 NCAA Tournament, informed police that he wanted to exercise his Miranda Rights (aka "plead the fifth") and/or remain silent during the search of his apartment, but then told police that he "only smokes [and does not sell or distribute]," - - Following his arrest, Crimson Tide HC Nate Oats stated at a press conference that the team was preparing to play without Holloway - who was the team's No.2 scorer, averaging 16.8 points per game, behind only star guard Labaron Philon - when it faces No.13 seed Hofstra on Friday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament - - Holloway posted $5,000 bail and was released from the Tuscaloosa County jail shortly after his initial arrest - - He has been charged with a class C felony drug possession charge, "not for personal use," and a failure to affix a tax stamp charge, both of which are felonies and carry a max sentence of 10 years in jail and a $15,000 fine - - While it's unclear what prompted the search warrant, as per the charging documents, the West Alabama Narcotics Task Force was executing a search warrant at Holloway's apartment when authorities located the marijuana in a backpack, a jacket pocket, a suitcase, in a TV entertainment stand and a vacuum-sealed bag, along with a significant amount of cash, the prescription sedative promethazine, as well as drug paraphernalia (i.e., a "rolling tray" & packaging materials) - all of which was discovered in just one room of Holloway's apartment - - Authorities also found marijuana in a box and a drawer in a spare bedroom. . .Q: What are your thoughts on the Aden Holloway situation for the Alabama men's basketball program? How does this affect the Crimson Tide as they prepare for the 2026 NCAA Tournament?. . .First Four: In this particular segment, JD & Spencer discuss & provide a detailed analysis of the First Four games of the 2026 NCAA Tournament that occurred on Tuesday & Wednesday evening, which included the following four (4) matchups: NCAA Men's Basketball Championship: Midwest Region: No.16 UMBC Retrievers vs. No.16 Howard Bison NCAA Men's Basketball Championship: West Region: No.11 Texas Longhorns vs. No.11 NC State Wolfpack NCAA Men's Basketball Championship: South Region: No.16 Prairie View A&M Panthers vs. Lehigh Mountain Hawks NCAA Men's Basketball Championship: Midwest Region: No.11 Miami (Ohio) RedHawks vs. No.11 SMU Mustangs - 2026 NCAA Tournament/March Madness Bracket Review & Prediction Showcase: In this particular segment, JD and Spencer review the NCAA Tournament first-round matchups that have already occurred - - as well as provide their individual projections/predictions for each of the remaining games in the first & second round (i.e., Round of 64/Round of 32). . .**Tune in as JD and Spencer will fill in their NCAA bracket throughout this particular segment - - Also, Be Sure to Share Your Picks for the 2026 NCAA Tournament with us via X/Twitter - @TraditionFinest - and/or by Send Us a Message at Traditions.Finest@gmail.com. . . - NBA - - "Records are Wilt[ing] Down:" The legendary Wilt Chamberlain owns one less NBA record thanks to Oklahoma City Thunder superstar guard, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander - - Gilgeous-Alexander, the reigning NBA MVP, broke a record held Chamberlain for more than six (6) decades by scoring at least 20 points in 127 consecutive regular-season games - - His streak started on Nov.1, 2024, as he averaged 32.5 points in the 127 games - - Gilgeous-Alexander, or SGA, reached the NBA milestone in last Thursday's home game against the Boston Celtics, surpassing 20 points with a 20-foot jumper with 7:04 remaining in the 3rd QTR, eliciting a roar from the Paycom Center crowd - - He received a standing ovation and MVP chants during the next time out when the historic moment was recognized on Arena's videoboard - - SGA finished the game with 35 points & nine (9) assists in the Thunder's 104-102 win over the Celtics - - **NOTE: Gilgeous-Alexander, who won last season's scoring title and ranks second in the league, averaging 31.8 points per game this season, is on the verge of becoming the first player since Michael Jordan to score at least 30 points per game in four (4) consecutive NBA seasons - - His true shooting percentage of .669 would tie the highest in league history for a 30-point per-game scorer, matching Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry from his unanimous MVP season in 2015-16. . . - NFL - - The Minnesota Vikings agreed to a one-year contract with former Arizona Cardinals QB Kyler Murray, the team confirmed last Thursday afternoon (3/12) - - For Murray, the deal provides an opportunity to revitalize his career, and for the Vikings, it allows them to potentially elevate the QB play that largely doomed their 2025 season - - Minnesota will reportedly pay $1.3 million of Murray's $36.8 million salary for 2026, whereas the Arizona Cardinals will pay the remainder as part of their decision to release him last Wednesday: his new deal prohibits the Vikings from using a franchise or transition tag on him next offseason, sources told ESPN, which gives him a guaranteed path to NFL free agency next offseason if he elects to pursue it - - In Minnesota, Murray will have arguably the best supporting cast of his NFL career, which started in 2019 when the Cardinals selected him with the No.1 overall draft pick: he'll work with HC and play caller Kevin O'Connell, TE T.J. Hockenson and WRs Justin Jefferson & Jordan Addison, to improve the Vikings' offense next season - - Following the 2025 NFL regular season, O'Connell said that he wanted to find competition for starting QB J.J. McCarthy, who was the No.10 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, and finished last season with a 35.6 QBR in 10 starts - - Murray has been selected to two Pro Bowls and has accounted for 153 TDs in his career, but HC Kevin O'Connell was not willing to name him as the Vikings' starter in 2026. . .Q: What do you think of the move by the Minnesota Vikings to bring in QB Kyler Murray? Who will be the Minnesota Vikings starter next season: J.J. McCarthy or Kyler Murray?. . ."Fields, Great:" The Kansas City Chiefs found their newest backup QB for Patrick Mahomes on Monday, agreeing to send a 2027 sixth-round pick to the New York Jets to acquire Justin Fields, sources told ESPN's Adam Schefter - - Without an experienced veteran after last year's backup Gardner Minshew signed with the Arizona Cardinals last week, the other QBs on the Chiefs' QB depth chart, Chris Oladokun & Jake Haener, have combined to start in just three (3) games at the professional level - - Fields, 27, wanted to continue his career in Kansas City, although other teams were interested in acquiring him, the sources reported to Schefter, after the Jets last week acquired QB Geno Smith in a trade with the Las Vegas Raiders, to become their new starter in 2026 - - To facilitate the trade, the Jets are paying $7 million of Fields' $10 million 2026 guaranteed salary, whereas Kansas City will pay the remaining $3 million, much like the Jets did when they traded for Smith last week - - Mahomes, a nine-year NFL veteran, is rehabbing after he underwent surgery in December to repair the torn ACL and LCL in his left knee - and while Mahomes is hoping to be available for the Chiefs' season opener, Fields is a mobile QB who will take on the responsibility of operating the offense under HC Andy Reid and OC Eric Bieniemy during the offseason and most likely much of NFL training camp - - Deemed expendable after the addition of Geno Smith, Fields' departure from the Jets franchise was long anticipated, as he struggled in his lone season with the franchise, which led to his benching on Nov. 17, after which, he never saw the field again, finishing the 2025 season on IR with a knee ailment that flared up after his demotion, ending another disastrous chapter in the Jets' long, winding search for a franchise-winning QB: Fields went 2-7 as a starter with the Jets, ranking 31st out of 36 passers in Total QBR (37.3), based on a minimum of 200 attempts - - He finished with seven (7) TD passes, one INT and 1,259 passing yards, including only 505 yards in his last five (5) starts - - A 2021 first-round draft pick by the Chicago Bears, Fields is 16-37 as an NFL starting QB, as the Chiefs will become Fields' fourth team in four (4) NFL seasons. . .Q: What are your thoughts regarding the Kansas City Chiefs' acquisition of QB Justin Fields? Could this potentially lead to a resurgence and/or an overall shift in trajectory of Justin Fields' NFL career?. . ."A Penguin Sighting in Denver:" The Denver Broncos are trading for Miami Dolphins WR Jaylen Waddle in exchange for first-, third- and fourth-round picks in this year's NFL Draft, a source reported to ESPN's Adam Schefter on Tuesday - - The Broncos will also receive a fourth-round pick in return from the Dolphins, while the picks heading to Miami include No.30 overall as well as the 30th selection in each of the third and fourth rounds - - Waddle will join a Broncos WR corps that includes Courtland Sutton, Pat Bryant, Troy Franklin, Marvin Mims Jr., Lil'Jordan Humphrey & Michael Bandy - - **NOTE: The Dolphins, at Nos. 11 and 30, are now one of five (5) teams that have two picks in the first round of this year's NFL Draft, joining the New York Jets (Nos. 2 and 16), Cleveland Browns (Nos.6 and 24), Kansas City Chiefs (Nos. 9 and 29) & Dallas Cowboys (Nos.12 and 20) - - Overall, Miami currently has 11 selections in next month's draft - - Following the trade that landed Waddle out of Miami, Tutu Atwell is atop the Dolphins' depth chart at WR, and is joined in the WR room by Jalen Tolbert, Terrace Marshall Jr., Malik Washington, Tahj Washington, Theo Wease Jr., and AJ Henning. . .Q: What are your thoughts on the NFL trade on Tuesday that sent wideout Jaylen Waddle from the Miami Dolphins to the Denver Broncos? What does this trade tell you about the Denver Broncos' prospects for the upcoming 2026 season?. . . - Miscellaneous - - World Baseball Classic Final: Team USA vs. Venezuela - - Venezuela won the World Baseball Classic for the first time Tuesday night, beating the favored United States team 3-2 in the championship game on DH Eugenio Suarez's tiebreaking double in the top of the 9th inning - - **NOTE: Venezuela became the second Latin American nation to win the WBC, after the Dominican Republic in 2013, whereas the U.S., meanwhile, has just one title, won in 2017 - - Once again, the U.S. struggled offensively, as the starting lineup was dormant for a significant portion of the game. . .until the 8th inning - - In front of what was largely a pro-Venezuelan crowd in the Miami metropolitan area, Bryce Harper's two-run homer with two outs in the 8th inning tied the score for the U.S., 2-2. . .but Suarez hit a go-ahead double in the 9th inning off Team USA pitcher Garrett Whitlock, and Daniel Palencia pitched a perfect bottom half of the inning, to secure the victory for Venezuela - - Maikel Garcia was selected the tournament MVP after hitting .385 with a WBC-high 10 hits and seven (7) RBIs - - Team USA's lineup, which was billed as quite possibly the greatest ever, in any setting, when the WBC tournament began, a thought validated by two exhibition contests that saw it amass 29 runs on 33 hits, never seemed to hit full throttle when the games began to matter: It dropped its fourth pool-play game, getting shut down by Italian American Michael Lorenzen, then snuck past Canada in the quarterfinals and edged out a star-studded Dominican Republic team in the semifinals on the strength of two solo HRs - - **NOTE: Despite a heralded roster of stars led by USA team captain, Aaron Judge, Bryce Harper & Paul Skenes, the U.S. remained without a title since 2017, as manager Mark DeRosa also led the 2023 American team that lost the WBC final 3-2 to Japan, and would come back for 2029 if offered another chance - - Notable Stats: Team USA captain Aaron Judge was 0 for 4 with three (3) strikeouts and hit .222 with five (5) RBIs in the tournament, while Bryce Harper improved to .214 with three (3) RBIs with two hits against Venezuela - - Alex Bregman batted .143 with four (4) RBIs, as the U.S. scored nine (9) runs in the three (3) knockout-round games while batting .188. . .Q: What are your thoughts on the way in which Team USA struggled with the bat for most of the WBC tournament, but especially so, in the Final versus Venezuela on Tuesday night? Should Mark DeRosa be retained as the United States' team manager for the 2029 World Baseball Classic?. . . Thanks for Listening!