Oh, that has to be an easy one. Deshaun Watson, quarterback for the Cleveland Browns, is in the middle of a 5-year, fully guaranteed $230 million contract.
SU is not even basing this on the fact that he is not a good dude. His off-the-field actions are well-documented. And I give him a bit of a pass yesterday (no pun intended) as he had no time to throw the ball with his offensive line. But SU says even in the best of circumstances, he is not an elite quarterback and this type of contract in the NFL is a killer for the whole roster. It can set your franchise back several years if you screw this one up. Consider that to be the case here. Too bad as the Browns have a good defense. Just brutal. It makes the Giancarlo Stanton deal with the Yankees look pretty good (which it ain’t).
Speaking of the Yankees, SU was very, very disappointed (did I say very?) in Nestor Cortes complaining that he was brought in as a reliever on Saturday for the first time this year. He promptly pitched 4+ innings of great relief and got the win. And he still complained. Disrespected, blah, blah, blah. As a Yankee fan, the team’s biggest weakness going into the playoffs is the bullpen. Has he not been paying attention? If Nestor can be effective pitching 2-3 innings a game in the playoffs, that is huge. You have to figure Boone will roll out Cole, Gil and Rodon for the first 3 games of any series. Cortes would not be starting anyway. Isn’t it better to get him used to doing this in the regular season in September? Why is this so hard? Team first. “Happy to do it if it helps the team.” Bad look for Nestor who is a good guy. Do better.
While an American did not win the US Open this year, it was a great showing by the American men and women. SU roots for players no matter what their nationality – I have never gotten caught up in the “USA, USA” stuff. But it appears that we finally have some great talent to root for who are in the primes of their careers. Emma Navarro is only 23 and Coco is just 20. Tiafoe, Fritz, Paul, and even Shelton are right there.
Speaking of Ben Shelton, SU thought he was a bit of a punk last year at the Open with the hang up the phone gesture after winning a match. Not my style for sure. But he is definitely maturing and handles himself very well on the court now. SU was at the Tiafoe-Shelton match this year – might have been the best match of the Open. SU will be rooting for Shelton from here on out – he showed me something – including a much better backhand. Of all the American men, he will have the most upside looking to the future.
NFL week 1 is just about behind us. SU observation: not playing your starters in the exhibition games makes total sense – I get that. But so many teams are just not ready for week 1 – see NY Giants (who may not even be ready in week 18 this year). Not sure there is a better way but some ragged performances this week.
Sports Update Intergalactic 
Since I am a one trick pony and can only comment on baseball, I agree with your Nestor comments, why say that–it’s not like he has been Mr consistency. Too early to say for sure, but I like Cole, Gil and Schmidt (we’ll see) as the starters and then likley get 6 plus from Cole but couple the Gil and Schmidt starts with Nestor, and Rodon to get 7 or 8 ininngs, and then pray.
Bob, I am not a fan of either Rodon or Stroman in the playoffs. I just don’t see how Boone will not start Rodon as he has the experience but you have to have a quick hook. Schmidt could also come out of the bullpen as he has done it before. It has to be all hands on deck in the bullpen for the playoffs and I say a minimum of a 3-run lead heading into the 9th inning to ever feel safe and confident. Plus we do need Judge to start hitting again before October – I think he will.
Rodon, Cortes, Strohman and Smidt all seem like 4-5 inning pitchers. Piggy backing some combination for the playoffs makes all the sense in the world. And while it’s not a great look to complain i’d give Nestor a pass on this one. He is a competitor and feels he is as good as any other starter on the team besides Cole. He will fall in line and do what is best for the team but he does not have to be happy about it. And if it inspires him to put up zeros all the better.
Got out to see the Mets on Sunday and there goes the winning streak. And the Braves pull one out in extra innings. Ugh! But a beautiful day and I got a seat on the train even though the tennis ended at the exact same time. (The pregnant lady wanted to stand) Time to start a new streak and hope for the best. Acuna Mattata! With McNeil out someone needs to step up. That means you Alvy, LGM!
So speaking of tennis. Very disappointed to see Tiafoe fold badly at the end. I expected more mental toughness. The American players looked good but nobody really stood out as a star to me. Hopefully they can compete for a title in the next several years. However it seems to me that without Federer, Nadal and a sunsetting Djokovic there really are no superstars left to lead the game. It may be more competitive but stars are what sells the game and I hope someone will emerge, Alcaraz being the closest. The woman’s game is just boring. Like watching slow seniors men. Never thought I’d miss Serena.