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Baker Mayfield says contract talks with Tampa are "not anywhere close" and won't negotiate past training camp. Vegas survived a historic collapse, beating Carolina in double overtime to take a 2-1 Stanley Cup Final lead. The Knicks stole both road ga
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Welcome to The Sports Hangover Daily, I'm Michael Benatar. Today on the show: Baker Mayfield's contract standoff in Tampa, Vegas survives an all-time Stanley Cup meltdown in double overtime, and the Knicks are two wins from a title after stealing Game two in San Antonio. Let's get into it.
Alright, Baker Mayfield. This is the story. The Buccaneers quarterback was at his youth football camp yesterday and told reporters that contract extension talks are — his words — "not anywhere close" to where he envisioned. And then he dropped the hammer: he's not discussing it after training camp starts. That's a deadline. That's Baker telling Tampa to figure it out or he's done talking.
And honestly? I get it. This dude has been everything the Bucs needed. He walked into the post-Brady era and kept them competitive. He's earned a big payday. But Tampa's front office clearly doesn't see it that way, or at least not at the number Baker wants. And now you've got a franchise quarterback heading into a contract year openly telling the world he's unhappy. That seeps into the locker room. That changes how a guy plays in September when he's thinking about January — not January playoffs, January free agency.
The Bucs need to get this done before camp. Because if Baker Mayfield walks into training camp without a new deal and that frustration is sitting in his chest, you're looking at a guy who's either gonna press too hard to prove his worth or check out emotionally. Neither one wins you football games. Todd Bowles has to be on the phone with Jason Licht right now saying get this handled. Pay the man or make a move. But this limbo? This is how you waste a season.
Staying in the NFL — Broncos pass rusher Jonathon Cooper was arrested Thursday night in Colorado on domestic violence and criminal mischief charges. His girlfriend was also arrested on the same charges. The affidavit says the incident was over a cell phone. Cooper appeared in court Friday morning. He's started fifty-five straight games and signed a four-year, sixty million dollar extension in twenty twenty-four. Denver's gotta be holding its breath right now waiting to see how this plays out legally.
The Bears announced Friday that their board voted to advance the stadium project in Hammond, Indiana. After over a hundred years in Illinois, Chicago is leaving Chicago. That sentence is wild to say out loud. Hammond, Indiana. Bears football. We're really doing this.
And the Vikings quarterback drama keeps simmering. J.J. McCarthy's comments about him and Kyler Murray sitting on opposite sides of the QB meeting room got blown up into a beef story. Kevin O'Connell shut it down, but come on — when two quarterbacks competing for the same job aren't sitting together, people are gonna talk. That's just how it works.
Over in the Stanley Cup Final — Vegas survived one of the wildest collapses I've ever seen. Golden Knights won Game three, five to four in double overtime. They were up four to nothing. Mitch Marner had the fastest hat trick in Stanley Cup Final history. Three goals in six minutes and ten seconds. First natural hat trick in the Final since Ted Lindsay in nineteen fifty-five. Twenty-eight postseason points for Marner now. It felt like a blowout that was about to end early. And then Carolina scored three goals in thirty-nine seconds. Jordan Martinook, Taylor Hall, Jordan Staal — boom, boom, boom. Four to three. Then Andrei Svechnikov tied it with under two minutes left on the power play. One of the most unhinged periods of hockey I've ever watched. Shea Theodore won it in double overtime on a slap shot that bounced off the end boards and went in off the skate of Carolina goalie Brandon Bussi. Vegas leads two to one, but Rod Brind'Amour has a goalie decision to make after Bussi stopped eighteen of nineteen shots in relief.
Alright, here's the Hangover Take. The Knicks are gonna win the NBA Finals in five games, and it won't even feel close. They beat San Antonio one oh five to one oh four on the road in Game two. Brunson shot seven of twenty-five from the field and STILL had twenty points, five rebounds, six assists, and five steals. That's the first Knick to put up a twenty-five-five-five line in a Finals game. Karl-Anthony Towns went for twenty-one and thirteen. And the Spurs had them — they were down fourteen in the fourth, came ALL the way back, Wemby hit a three-point play to take the lead with under a minute left. And then Wemby turned it over. Brunson hit the go-ahead free throw. Wemby missed the game winner. That's your series right there. San Antonio had the dagger in their hand and dropped it. New York has won thirteen straight playoff games — second longest streak in NBA history behind only the twenty seventeen Warriors. They just stole both road games. They're the third team ever to win the first two Finals games on the road, joining the ninety-three Bulls and the ninety-five Rockets. That's Michael Jordan and Hakeem Olajuwon company. This series is over. San Antonio's young and they'll be back. But these Knicks are on a mission, and Wemby isn't ready to carry this yet. Five games. Book it.
That's your hangover. Go hydrate. I'll see you tomorrow.