Brad Cesmat
Wonder if Mat Ishbia saw the price tag of the Lakers sale and thought, “Hmm, what am I doing in this space?” A 10-billion dollar valuation for the Buss family to sell the prized NBA franchise. Isbbia bought the Suns less than three years ago at a price tag of $ 4 billion. You can chant “Beat LA” all you want, but the dollars don’t lie regarding the property’s value. It doesn’t mean that the Suns are not by Park Place or Boardwalk on the Monopoly board, but it does mean that Ishbia saw the value of the team go up yesterday, even though we’ve not seen much positive on the court since he took over. Spin bringing Kevin Durant here all you 
want, the trade has failed. With the mortgage industry being the main thing, I wonder if he has any buyer’s remorse getting into the NBA at a time when the mortgage industry isn’t as strong. Yesterday, Forbes dropped Ishbia’s net worth by $146 million, listing him worth 7 billion. A 2-percent drop from their last listing. Give crazy guaranteed money to Bradley Beal, or trade several future assets for Kevin Durant, and it makes me wonder if he can’t get this franchise turned around in the next few years, is he long for the sports ownership game. Of course, the people on the payroll at 201 E. Jefferson St. in downtown will deny there’s a potential problem. They shouldn’t. Just because the value of his NBA franchise went up because of the Lakers sale, doesn’t mean he’s shown the ability to put a winning product on the floor year in and year out…
Is it WWE or WNBA? The Caitlin Clark bandwagon is in a tizzy over the physical brand of basketball she’s had to face. It’s as though the fan base believes she should have her own set of rules. As the face of the WNBA, they might be right.
The remarkable growth of the W is due in part to Clark, but that would disrespect the rest of the League. When Diana Taurasi was in her prime, the question was always asked: Could the League survive without her? It was a silly notion to have, but that’s what happens when our industry decides to latch on to one player. Voices are wondering about the quality of officiating in the W, and I would say, there’s questionable officiating in every sport in our country. Producing better referees to stay up with the bigger, stronger, more skilled players isn’t a priority. We can put replay in, but the game’s pace gets destroyed with the delays. There are no Jordan Rules for Caitlin Clark. MJ had to face Dennis Rodman and figure it out. Clark is going to have to do the same. Oneof the point on this topic, Clark talks ALOT to the other team from what I’ve seen. Let’s not make this out to be “the WNBA isn’t protecting poor Caitlin Clark”…
Torey Lovullo’s failure to hold up four fingers to Vladimir Guerrero Jr. in Wednesday night’s blowout loss will go down as one of the dumbest managerial moves of his tenure. Bottom of the 6th inning, down just 2-1. The type of non-move makes you wonder if he was auditioning his pitcher to get out of trouble. I’m not in favor of that either. Managers make dumb moves. It happens…
Screened F1 -The Movie. It’s Top Gun on the Formula One circuit. Brad Pitt is terrific. I feel the need, the need for speed. That is F1-The Movie. See it in IMAX so you feel the cars running right through you…
