*THE LEAD: The Patriots, with the least money under the cap in the league, and Cam Newton, who needed a job, are a perfect short-term match. However, I remain skeptical that Newton, who has been hit more than any quarterback since entering the NFL, can make it through a full season > IN WEDNESDAY’S SPORTS ZONE – After the addition of Cam Newton, will the Patriots win the AFC East in 2020 … Which will the better team in 2020 – The Buccaneers with Tom Brady or the Patriots with Cam Newton?
*LOCAL ROUNDUP: ASU alum Spencer Torkelson, the first pick of this month’s MLB Draft, signed today with the Detroit Tigers for a reported $8.4 million.
The future of the UA football program appears dismal and there is more evidence of how bad things have been in the past. In addition to having the Pac 12’s worst record since the turn of the century, the new College Football Hall of Fame ballot has zero UA players.
*HEARD THROUGH THE GRAPEVINE: Sticking with UA theme, the Colts, before signing Phillip Rivers talked to the Jaguars about trading for Nick Foles before he was dealt to the Bears.
The Buccaneers Bruce Arians is not interested in signing Antonio Brown even with the reported continual insistence of Tom Brady.
The Yankees expect the previously injured Aaron Judge (rib, collapsed lung) to be cleared for full activities when Summer Camp begins this week.
NEXT UPDATE – TUESDAY JULY 14 (THE BOTTOM LINE AND SPORTS ZONE ARE ON VACATION AT NOON JULY 2ND UNTIL JULY 13TH)
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IN THE THURSDAY SPORTS ZONE
(THIS PLAN IS TENTATIVE AND SOMEWHAT SUBJECT TO CHANGE)
*AT THE TOP OF THE SHOW, THE INTRODUCTION OF THE PIPELINE
*AT 9:15, THE LOCAL ROUNDUP: Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo Meets The Press
*AT 9:30, THE LOCAL ROUNDUP: Suns head coach Monty Williams Meets The Press
*IN THE FINAL SEGMENT OF HOUR NUMBER ONE, THE NATIONAL ROUNDUP TOPPED BY THE LATEST LINE
*AT THE TOP OF THE 10:00 HOUR, LAST CALL + THE BOTTOM LINE
*AT 10:15, TEAM 14 OF 14 PREVIEWING THE COLLEGE FOOTBALL SEASON: with The Ohio State University and Ari Wasserman of The Athletic
*AT 10:30, INTERACTIVE ACTION AND THE DAILY EDITION OF CAUGHT MY EYE
*AND IN THE FINAL SEGMENT, TODAY IN ROCK HISTORY
*FROM 11:00-NOON (MONDAY, WEDNESDAY, THURSDAY AND FRIDAY): THE EXTRA POINT, HOSTED BY KAYLA
TENTATIVE 19TH ANNUAL SPORTS ZONE/BOB KEMP FOOTBALL PREVIEW
NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE (TENTATIVE 10:15 SEGMENTS)
TUESDAY, JULY 21: Buffalo
WEDNESDAY, JULY 22: Miami
THURSDAY, JULY 23: New England
FRIDAY, JULY 24: New York Jets
TUESDAY, JULY 28: Baltimore
WEDNESDAY, JULY 29: Cincinnati
THURSDAY, JULY 30: Cleveland
FRIDAY, JULY 31: Pittsburgh
TUESDAY, AUGUST 4: Houston
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 5: Indianapolis
THURSDAY, AUGUST 6: Jacksonville
FRIDAY, AUGUST 7: Tennessee
TUESDAY, AUGUST 11: Denver
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 12: Kansas City
THURSDAY, AUGUST 13: Los Angeles Chargers
FRIDAY, AUGUST 14: Oakland
TUESDAY, AUGUST 18: Dallas
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 19: New York Giants
THURSDAY, AUGUST 20: Philadelphia
FRIDAY, AUGUST 21: Washington
TUESDAY, AUGUST 25: Chicago
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 26: Detroit
THURSDAY, AUGUST 27: Green Bay
FRIDAY, AUGUST 28: Minnesota
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 1: Atlanta
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 2: Carolina
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 3: New Orleans
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 4: Tampa Bay
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 8: Los Angeles Rams
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 9: San Francisco
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 10: Seattle
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 11: Arizona (Friday before Week #1)
PAC 12 CONFERENCE PREVIEWS
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 26: California (first game 8/29 @ UNLV) + Stanford
THURSDAY, AUGUST 27: UCLA (first game 8/29 vs. New Mexico State) + USC
FRIDAY, AUGUST 28: UA (the day before season opener vs. Hawaii)
MONDAY, AUGUST 31: Oregon + Oregon State
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 1: Washington State +Washington
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 2: Colorado + Utah
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 3: ASU (the day of its season opener vs. NAU)
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RECENT EDITIONS
THURSDAY, JUNE 25, 2020
A SIX PACK OF KNOWLEDGE
*THE LEAD: MLB will allow teams to schedule up to three exhibition games as part of their preparations for the 2020 season, according to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal who also wrote “If a club is not located near any potential opponents, it can schedule games against its initial regular-season opponent in days leading to Opening Day.”
*NATIONAL ROUNDUP: The NCAA announced today that the recruiting dead period in football thru August 31st.
*LOOKING AHEAD TO THE 2021 NFL DRAFT: The NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah has LSU’s Ja’Marr Chase rated higher than any wide receiver from the talented 2020 class and Clemson’s Travis Etienne ranked above any running back taken in April 2020.
*HEARD THROUGH THE GRAPEVINE: Browns WR Jarvis Landry (off-season hip surgery) will likely start training camp on the PUP list.
The Eagles (Lisfranc injury from last season) is likely questionable for Week One, assuming Week One starts as scheduled on September 10th.
*BY THE NUMBERS – 0: The number of NFL MVP votes Russell Wilson has received IN HIS CAREER (according to the NFL Network.
TUESDAY, JUNE 23, 2020
A SIX PACK OF KNOWLEDGE
*THE LEAD: Because of their advanced hitting skills, ASU’s Spencer Torkelson and Tucson native Nick Gonzalez could reach the major leagues by the end of the 2021 season with the Tigers and Pirates, respectively.
*LOCAL ROUNDUP: Some NFL insiders wonder if ASU and Valley product N’Keal Harry can be an effective NFL wide receiver because of a lack of separation skills and him being unable bully defensive backs like he did against Pac 12 defenders.
*HEADLINES ACROSS AMERICA: Josh Gordon has applied to the NFL for another reinstatement after his latest substance abuse suspension.
*HEARD THROUGH THE GRAPEVINE: If there are no pre-season games, how will the Bears judge their so-called quarterback competition between UA alum Nick Foles and Mitchell Trubisky?
*BY THE NUMBERS – 1: The number of teams on Hard Knocks that have finished above .500 since 2014 (Texans in 2015).
14: The number of players who have transferred out of the Nebraska program since the end of the 2019 season.
