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By Marc Lawrence
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Friday, Feb 6 |
Another sad day in the life of a once-great newspaper has happened.
The Washington Post eliminated its sports department on Wednesday as part of a widespread purge that saw one-third of the paper's staff laid off.
Thanks, Jeff Bezos.
To that, Bob Kravitz, a legendary sports writer who authors an excellent Substack page called “Musings of an Old Sportswriter,” - you can follow him at BobKravitz.com - called out Bezos, the richest man in on earth (net worth $250B) when he wrote:
“Woke up this morning, checked X, and I saw what I was expecting to see... On Wednesday morning it was ... a chorus line of Washington Post reporters and editors denouncing the death of the paper’s sports section, among other journalistic atrocities.”
“We’ve known for some time the hammer was going to fall. It seems that Jeff Bezos, the heartless, gutless multibillionaire, succumbed to both business pressures and pressure from the Administration and tore the newspaper asunder. It’s terribly sad when any news-gathering operation ceases to exist or sees its staff get cut (see: the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette), but the Washington Post was, and is, different. It’s an American institution, a true journalism behemoth that speaks truth to power and was responsible for the Watergate fiasco that brought down the Nixon presidency.
It’s not just sports. It’s Metro. It’s Sunday Books. It’s the foreign desk with several foreign correspondents getting the boot...”
To thatt, I say, good for you, Bob, for calling out all of the political ass-kissing that exists in country today.
Publication companies are drowning as it is. They don’t need greedy billionaires holding their heads under water for personal gain.
FYI: I will be launching my ‘Betcha Didn’t Know’ Substack page soon. Its theme is simple – All Sports. No Politics. Just As It Should Be’.
Watch for it soon at Substack.com.
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ON TODAY'S SCORECARD
Greek Freak Stays
Despite all of the speculation surrounding Giannis Antetokounmpo’s future, the Milwaukee Bucks decided to keep him through this Thursday’s trade deadline.
A week ago, ESPN reported that Antetokounmpo is “ready for a new home.” The Golden State Warriors, Miami Heat, Minnesota Timberwolves and New York Knicks were mentioned as trade suitors for the two-time MVP. However, none of them were able to blow the Bucks away with an offer.
Shortly after the trade deadline passed, Antetokounmpo posted a clip from “The Wolf of Wall Street” along with this caption: “Legends don’t chase. They attract.”
Even though Antetokounmpo was reportedly ready to leave Milwaukee, he’s open to working things out. It’s worth noting that he’s eligible to sign a contract extension on Oct. 1.
League sources say that the Bucks — who deep down would still prefer not to trade their Face of the Franchise — believe that a bolt of lottery luck in May could still keep alive Milwaukee’s dream of convincing Antetokounmpo to extend the relationship one more time. |
BETCHA DIDN’T KNOW
1.80
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Tampa Bay Lightning winger Nikita Kucherov has been on an absolute heater since the calendar flipped to 2026, scoring 39 points (11 G, 28 A) in just 15 games to push his season total to 90 in 50 games.
If he keeps up that pace, he’d be just the 12th player in NHL history to eclipse 1.80 points per game in a season, including the likes of Wayne Gretzky (11 times), Maro Lemieux (6), Phil Esposito (2), Connor McDavid (2), and eight others (1). |
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GRINDING OUT THE PROFITS
The 4-Win Factor
Three NFL teams have made it to the Super Bowl after winning 4 or fewer games the previous season.
All three of them lost the Super Bowl, but none of then lost money, as they went 2-0-1 ATS.
EDGE: NEW ENGLAND
The game write-up above is from this 2026 Playbook Super Bowl Guide Newsletter.
Click on the newsletter below to
download a copy now.
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TRENDING TODAY
This Is What Dominance Looks Like |
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The top brass in men's college basketball has been remarkably dominant so far this season. How dominant, you ask?
Well, consider this: Three years ago, the AP Top 10 had a combined 36 losses in the first February poll. Two years ago? 40 losses. Last year? 34 losses. This year? Just 18 losses. And nine of those losses came against each other!
Top 10:
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Arizona (22-0)
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Michigan (20-1)
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UConn (22-1)
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Duke (21-1)
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Illinois (20-3)
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Gonzaga (22-2)
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Iowa State (20-2)
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Houston (20-2)
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Nebraska (20-2)
10. Michigan State (19-4)
The big picture: There are multiple factors at play here, and we'll dive deeper into the sport's current landscape at a later date.
For now, let’s just say: Clear your calendars in late March and early April. You're not going to want to miss this year's tournament.
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PERCOLATING
Historic Night
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Portland stunned No. 6 Gonzaga, 87-80, on Wednesday to snap the Bulldogs' 15-game winning streak and notch one of the biggest upsets of the season. The Pilots, 21.5-point underdogs, had never beaten a top-10 team in the 73-year history of their program.
In addition, unranked Minnesota also upset No. 10 Michigan State, 76-73, marking the first time in 36 years that two teams with losing records beat top-10 ranked opponents on the same day.
It totaled 109 years of blowing up the record books. |
QUOTE OF THE DAY |
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"The safest way to get what you want
is to deserve what you want."
- Charlie Munger |
STAT OF THE DAY
19-1 |
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This past Tuesday marked the third time this season that at least four D-I teams with
a 19-1 record or better were in action on
the same day. Prior to this season, that
had happened three times this century |
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