ESNY’s Wednesday Morning Shootaround

A quiet night around New York sports was busy elsewhere.

Welcome to the Morning Shootaround!

We didn’t have a New York City team in action on Tuesday but we were gifted with a significant departure. The New York Giants fired head coach Joe Judge, making them another team on the growing list looking for both a head coach and general manager. Ryan looked at the broken, empty legacies of Judge and Dave Gettleman. Our reaction to the news that he was out?

Tonight we’ll get a double-dose of hoops on ESPN, but the game we want to see starts late thanks to the worldwide leader flexing their television dollars. Dallas visiting MSG is a nice game, but do we want to stay up until 10 PM for the start of the Nets at Bulls? C’mon man!

Since our teams were quiet on Tuesday, this morning’s shootaround is focused on the crazy night that was everywhere else.

Here’s what we’re watching on Wednesday night:

• NBA: Mavs @ Knicks — 7:30 PM ET
• NBA: Nets @ Bulls — 10 PM ET
• CBB: Duquesne @ Fordham — 7 PM ET
• CBB: St. Joseph’s @ Rhode Island — 7 PM ET
• CBB: St. John’s @ UConn — 8:30 PM ET

Loser’s Luck?

if you tuned into college hoops on Tuesday night, you saw a few intriguing results. A game we highlighted yesterday in our What We’re Watching area — Auburn vs. Alabama — was a great rivalry game that went down to the wire.

The big news at the end of the schedule was that there are no more undefeated teams. But is that a good thing for one of the four teams that suffered its first loss last night?

Tuesday was the 4th time in the past 40 seasons that all of the remaining unbeatens lost on the same day. Coincidentally, each of the previous 3 instances featured the eventual national champion:
– Virginia in 2018-19
– Villanova in 2017-18
– Florida in 2005-06 pic.twitter.com/p1S7opwPVx

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) January 12, 2022

Howard Stern has… tennis thoughts?

Novak Djokovic’s attempt to play in the Australian Open has been a complete disaster for him and tennis. He admitted on Tuesday that he lied on his paperwork when he tried to enter the country and did an interview while he had COVID.

The world’s No. 1 player has been a marketing nightmare for the game and the tournament. But we never thought Howard Stern would weigh in on the situation.

Howard Stern goes off on “f**knut” Novak Djokovic: “Throw him right the f**k out of tennis.” pic.twitter.com/9VbE9Zw0Be

— Mike Sington (@MikeSington) January 11, 2022

Kodak Black gives Panthers a headache

The Florida Panthers hosted Kodak Black at their game on Tuesday night. The NHL tweeted about it, the team showed him on the scoreboard and the artist shared his front-row view on Instagram.

However, later in the game it appeared that he was… enjoying more than the game. In a suite immediately next to where the Panthers’ front office was watching the game. To say social media had it’s way with what appeared to be a couple of folks getting to know each other better with an entire arena visible is an understatement. But here’s our best take of the night.

So tired of watching the NHL and thinking somebody scored only to have it overturned after a replay. https://t.co/sHAG8dTRcW

— Down Goes Brown (@DownGoesBrown) January 12, 2022

Jon Lester walks away

After a terrific career that included 200 wins and three World Series championships with the Red Sox and Cubs, Jon Lester is hanging up his spikes.

We’ll have more about how Yankees fans feel about what is now a complete resume for Lester from Josh later today, and in five years we’ll find out how Hall of Fame voters view his career. But Lester got it done on the biggest stage in two cities that weren’t used to having champions on the diamond.

NEWS at ESPN: 3-time World Series champion Jon Lester is retiring. I spoke with him and others in his orbit.
Dustin Pedroia: “Anytime he had the ball in a big game, you were going in for an 80-minute massage. You were in good hands.”
Story here: https://t.co/4gQlF56G6g

— Jesse Rogers (@JesseRogersESPN) January 12, 2022