Welcome Back to the Tradition's Finest Podcast! Episode 141.5 - "The un-seld, SOLD! Episode" includes a discussion of the following sports-related topics: - NCAA: News & Storylines - - The NCAA Division I Cabinet unanimously approved a new five-year, age-based eligibility model on Tuesday -- Under the new rule, athletes in all sports will be given five (5) years of eligibility over five (5) seasons once their college eligibility clock begins -- The clock starts upon initial full-time enrollment in college or at the beginning of the academic year following their 19th birthday, whichever occurs first - - The move is meant to eliminate the need for redshirts and waivers, which have drawn scrunity in recent years as athletes have sued the NCAA challenging eligibility rules - - Athletes who just completed their fourth season of eligibility without a redshirt would not be granted an additional year, while schools will have the flexibility in determining whether to use previous eligibility rules of the new age-based model for athletes with eligibility remaining after the 2025-26 academic year. . .Q: What are your thoughts on the NCAA D-I Cabinet's unanimous approval of the new five-year age-based eligibility model on Tuesday?. . .NCAA College Football: The NCAA Division I Cabinet also voted to eliminate the bowl transition penalty, paving a pathway for North Dakota State and Sacramento State to be eligible to participate in a bowl game immediately in 2026, sources told On3 - - Previously, the NCAA had a two-year transition penalty prohibiting programs from playing in bowl games that moved and/or transitioned from the FCS to the FBS level: North Dakota State and Sacramento State will need to finish with a 6-6 record or better this upcoming season and can fulfill one of their conference's bowl commitments - - In March, the FBS Oversight Committee recommended the elimination of the two-year postseason probationary period - - Interestingly, according to preliminary reports, NDSU is projected to be favored in all 12 of its' games in 2026, which includes an eight-game Mountain West conference schedule: The Bison, who have won 10 of the last 15 FCS titles, could now realistically make a run at a College Football Playoff berth in their debut FBS season. . .Q: What are your thoughts on the NCAA D-I Cabinet voting to eliminate the bowl transition penalty?. . .NCAA College Baseball: Men's College World Series (MCWS) Review & Catch-Up: Game 1: No.5 North Carolina Tar Heels vs. Oklahoma Sooners - - Deiten Lachance hit a pair of HRs as Oklahoma continued it's offensive barrage with a 9-3 win over No.5 North Carolina in the opening game of the Men's College World Series championship best-of-three (3) series on Saturday [6/20] in Omaha, Nebraska. . .Game 2: No.5 North Carolina Tar Heels (0-1) vs. Oklahoma Sooners (1-0) - - The Tar Heels forced a winner-take-all Game 3 that would take place the following Monday after taking down the Sooners 6-2 in Game 2 of the MCWS on Sunday [6/21] afternoon - - It was a similar game to Saturday's Game 1, just with two different winners, as Oklahoma was held scoreless after the 1st inning. . .. . .Game 3: No.5 North Carolina Tar Heels (1-1) vs. Oklahoma Sooners (1-1) - - The Oklahoma Sooners, who finished the college baseball regular season in 11th place in the SEC Conference standings, captured its' third College World Series championship Monday [6/22] night, defeating the No.5-ranked North Carolina Tar Heels in a convincing 13-2 victory of the decisive Game 3 of the championship series. . .Q: What are your thoughts on the Oklahoma Sooners capturing its' third national title after defeating UNC in Game 3 of the MCWS?. . . MLB - - "Happy Bobby Bonilla Day!:"It's July 1. . .and that means it's time for New York Mets fans everywhere to wish each other a "Happy Bobby Bonilla Day!". . .Why?. . because, on Wednesday [7/1], 63-year-old Bobby Bonilla received a check for approximately $1.2 million dollars from the New York Mets organization, as he has and will every July 1 from 2011 through the year 2035. . .Q: Do you consider yourself an avid celebrator of "Bobby Bonilla Day?". . .Because of baseball's unique salary structure, Bonilla's annual payday is often more than some of the game's current young stars will make in a given year - - The Mets are certainly not alone in handing out deferred payments to star players long after they last suited up for the team, with past MVPs and Cy Young winners among the notable names still collecting annual paychecks from their previous employers - - In recent MLB offseasons, deferred money became an even bigger talking point with the Los Angeles Dodgers frequently opting for this payment structure, highlighted by a deal with superstar Shohei Ohtani that will delay payments for $680 million of his $700 million mega-deal - as he'll start receiving $68 million per year in 2034. . .Q: Will this eventually lead to the formation of a "Happy Shohei Ohtani Day?". . .So, how did Bobby Bonilla's payday and/or deferred yearly payment(s) come about?. . .In 2000, the Mets agreed to buy out the remaining $5.9 million on Bonilla's contract, however, instead of paying Bonilla the $5.9 million at the time, the Mets agreed to make annual (or "deferred") payments of nearly $1.2 million for 25 years starting July 1, 2011, including a negotiated 8% interest - - Under Mets' new owner Steve Cohen, who mentioned the possibility of celebrating Bonilla at Citi Field annually soon after taking ownership of the team, as the MLB franchise have fully embraced Bonilla's annual payday - - Bobby Bonilla last played for the Mets in 1999 and last played in the MLB for the St. Louis Cardinals in 2001, but he will be paid through 2035 (when he'll be 72 years old) - - Oh, and that's not all, folks. . .believe it or not, but this is not Bobby Bonilla's only deferred-money MLB contract: a second deferred-contract plan with the Mets and Baltimore Orioles agreed to pay him $500,000 a year for 25 years, with those payments beginning back in the year 2004. . .Q: What are your thoughts on Bobby Bonilla's annual $1.2 million payday? If you received a payment every July 1 for the amount of $1.2 million - which is just a few days prior to the Fourth of July - would you invest a significant amount of fireworks like Spencer would if he was in that position? [**Let Us Know what you would do if you were in Bobby Bonilla's position financially: Share your answers with us via X - @TraditionFinest or Send Us an email at Traditions.Finest@gmail.com!]. . . - NFL - - "No Supplemental Draft for Sorsby:" The NFL has informed teams that it will NOT be holding a Supplemental Draft this year, meaning Texas Tech QB Brendan Sorsby will not be eligible to enter the NFL in 2026 - - The NFL's decision came down to its' right to decide whether to hold a supplemental draft, per the collective bargaining agreement, as league officials said they believed it would ultimately become a distraction to teams as they begin training camps - - The NFL's Management Council issued a letter to Brendan Sorsby notifying him of the league's decision, and to summarize the letter: it indicated, that, based on timing - and the league's inability to investigate the gambling issues in time - and the hope to avoid a distraction for teams prior to the 2026-27 NFL season, there would be no Supplemental Draft, and in other words, there is no other avenue available at this time for Sorsby to enter the league and/or play in the NFL for the upcoming 2026-27 regular season - - - - Sorsby's attorney, Jeffrey Kessler's reaction/response to the NFL's decision to not hold a Supplemental Draft in 2026, was: "It is a violation of the CBA and the law. We will pursue this with the NFLPA immediately.". . .Q: What are your thoughts on the NFL's decision to not hold a Supplemental Draft this year, as well as their statement to QB Brendan Sorsby?. . ."The Terrion Arnold Story:" Per the Tampa Police Department, this all started after Lions CB Terrion Arnold and several others had property stolen from an AirBnB Arnold rented in Largo (FL) in early February - - Investigators say Arnold believed some of the eventual victims were responsible, even though police later determined they were not involved in that theft - - - - On February 3, police say Arnold and Boakai Hilton, who investigators say helped coordinate the alleged setup - directed Arianna Del Valle and Jasmine Randazzo to contact one of the victims and lure him to an apartment in Tampa - - Around midnight on February 4, investigators say the victims arrived at the apartment, and once they entered the bedroom, police say Christion Williams and Lyndell Hudson, two of Arnold's associates - who had been hiding in the closet - jumped out, grabbed the victims, held them at gunpoint, and attacked them - - Investigators say the incident was streamed to Arnold, Hilton and Freddie Hughes while they were traveling to the apartment - - Police also say there was a group chat involving the defendants, and that Arnold and Hilton gave directions through that chat while the attack was happening - - About an hour later, police say Arnold arrived at the apartment with Hilton, Hughes, and another person, and that he directed them to go inside while the robbery was still going on - - Investigators say property was stolen from the victims during attack - - At around 1:40 a.m, police say the victims were escorted out of the apartment by armed suspects and forced into their vehicle before leaving the scene - - The victims later reported the incident to Tampa Police and identified the suspects - - After search warrants were executed and the investigation continued, detectives arrested multiple people in the case over the n...