Welcome Back to the Tradition's Finest Podcast! Episode 143 - "The Pop'a Big Perk Episode" includes a discussion of the following sports-related topics: - NCAA: News & Storylines - - NCAA College Basketball: The National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame has announced its' Class of 2026, honoring three (3) legendary players and three (3) iconic coaches whose collegiate careers represent the highest levels of achievement in the history of the game: The class includes national championship coaches Jay Wright (led Villanova to two national titles in 2016 & 2018) and Tubby Smith (led Kentucky to a national title in 1998), longtime Kansas HC Ted Owens (1964-1983), BYU superstar Danny Ainge, Michigan scoring ace Glen Rice and the late UCLA legend Walt Hazzard - - Each induction class is selected by the Blue Ribbon Selection Committee, comprised of college basketball executives & respected leaders around the country, and administered by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Foundation - - The Class of 2026 will be formally enshrined during the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame Induction Celebration, presented by UMB Private Wealth Management on Oct. 22 at the College Basketball Experience in Kansas City, Missouri - - **NOTE: This year marks the 20^th class to be inducted into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame, as it started in 2006 with a historic group of honorees, featuring John Wooden, Dean Smith, Oscar Robertson and Bill Russell. . .Q: What are your thoughts on the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2026?. . .NCAA College Football: Florida State is hiring former Texas, Houston & Florida Atlantic (FAU) HC Tom Herman to its coaching staff for the upcoming 2026 season, a source confirmed to ESPN on Monday, whereas a second source later informed the network, that Herman will serve as an assistant to Seminoles' HC Mike Norvell [and so, basically, it appears the "Gus Malzahn" experiment didn't work out, so they have selected Tom Herman to potentially become FSU's interim coach if the wheels fall off the Florida State football program this season under Norvell] - - Herman, 51, coached in 2024 with Florida Atlantic, when he was fired shortly before the end of his second season - - He went 54-20 with Houston and then Texas, recording top-10 finishes in 2015 (Houston) and 2017 (Texas), and went 6-16 at FAU - - Herman spent 2021 as an offensive analyst with the Chicago Bears in the NFL, but he hasn't served as a college assistant since a three-year run as Ohio State's OC from 2012 to 2014 under HC Urban Meyer: Herman built his profile as an offensive play-caller, holding coordinator roles with such programs as Texas State, Rice and Iowa State, prior to his arrival in Columbus, where he won the Broyles Award as the nation's top assistant in 2014, when the Buckeyes went on to win the national championship with a third-string QB (i.e., Cardale Jones) - - While Tim Harris Jr. was promoted to the OC role following Malzahn's departure; HC Mike Norvell is set to reclaim his offensive play-calling duties this season. . .Q: Could Tom Herman be FSU's "coach-in-waiting" (aka, an interim coach) in the event that Mike Norvell and the Seminoles do not have a successful 2026-27 College Football season?. . . - MLB - - Regardless of how his name is pronounced, Roch Cholowsky has a new title: No.1 pick — Cholowsky, the standout UCLA shortstop, was selected by the Chicago White Sox with the top overall pick in the 2026 MLB Draft, and was expected to sign a record-setting bonus - - While the White Sox debated between Cholowsky and Texas high school SS Grady Emerson - who was selected with the No.2 pick by the Tampa Bay Rays - they opted for a player who by next season could join their suddenly ascendant major league franchise - - Cholowsky has agreed to a contract with the Chicago White Sox that includes a record-breaking $10.35 million signing bonus after being selected with the No.1 overall pick in last weekend's amateur draft, sources confirmed to ESPN amid multiple reports, whereas the slot value for the top pick this year was $11.35 million — Cholowsky's record-setting signing bonus tops the previous mark of $9.25 million for the amateur draft that belonged to Cincinnati Reds pitcher Chase Burns and Colorado Rockies prospect Charlie Condon, two of the top three (3) selections in the 2024 MLB Draft - - Cholowsky, a 6-foot-2 SS, who turned 21 in April, hit .320 with 21 HRs, 60 RBIs, and a 1.088 OPS in 60 games this season for UCLA: **NOTE: Cholowsky played for the Bruins for three (3) seasons, batting .329 with 52 homers, 167 RBIs and a 1.072 OPS in 178 games played - as he ranks among the school's career leaders in homers, runs scored, on-base percentage and RBIs - - Meanwhile and despite losing a major-league record 121 games in 2024, the White Sox didn't pick until No.10 overall last year because of anti-tanking rules, however, they won the draft lottery in December, and the pick of Cholowsky was viewed as something of a foregone conclusion until he put up numbers below expectations in Big Ten play, with an OPS nearly 275 points lower than in non-conference games - - Regardless, Cholowsky's .320/.452/.636 line with 21 HRs and 60 RBIs followed a sophomore season in which he hit .353/.480/.710 with 23 HRs and 74 RBIs, which was plenty impressive enough for the White Sox to make him their first No.1 overall pick since Hall of Famer Harold Barnes in 1977. . .Q: What are your thoughts on the Chicago White Sox selecting Roch Cholowsky with the No.1 overall pick in this year's MLB Draft?. . .2026 Home Run Derby: St. Louis Cardinals OF Jordan Walker staged a dramatic finish on Monday night, hitting six (6) consecutive HRs in the final round to stun the Phillies faithful, becoming the first player in Cardinals' franchise history to take the Derby crown: Walker hit 12 HRs in the final round to Kyle Schwarber's 11, and won it with a 407-foot blast to left field [where his parents were seated in the stands] - - The 2026 Home Run Derby made its Netflix debut on Monday night, and delivered in a big way thanks to St. Louis Cardinals slugger Jordan Walker, who completed an epic comeback on his final swing, blasting four (4) homers to spoil the hometown favorite, Schwarber, and Phillies' fans at Citizens Bank Park - - Not only did Walker become the first Cardinals player in MLB history to win the Derby, he is also the second-youngest player of all time to claim the crown (24) - - He also got to take home a cool $1 million for his efforts, while Schwarber earned $500,000 as the runner-up -- **NOTE: Interestingly, Walker's HR Derby prize of $1 million is more than his 2026 MLB salary of $799.4k - - Schwarber beat Willson Contreras in the semifinal round to advance, while Walker outlasted Junior Caminero - - Another Philadelphia hopeful, 1^st baseman Bryce Harper, was eliminated in the first round when he hit only eight (8) HRs - and joined Jac Caglianone (8), Munetaka Murakami (9), and Ben Rice (7) on the sideline - - Players seemed to like the new format, however, which allowed for 20 untimed swings in the first round, 15 in the semifinals and 15 more in the final: Walker hit a total of 31 HRs, which was the same number than Kyle Schwarber, the runner-up, hit under this new Derby format. . .Q: What are your thoughts on Jordan Walker being crowned the 2026 Home Run Derby Champion, and the first St. Louis Cardinals' player ever to achieve this particular feat?. . .2026 MLB All-Star Game: In a year when MLB pitchers throwing unhittable 100 mph fastballs have generated many of baseball's headlines, the story of the 2026 MLB All-Star Game was that there are many ways to dominate the 60 feet, 6 inches between the pitcher's rubber & homeplate: Eleven (11) American League (AL) pitchers combined to allow three (3) hits and strike out 15 National League (NL) batters in a 4-0 victory Tuesday night at Citizens Bank Park, the AL's fourth shutout in All-Star play - - This was arguably the most impressive team pitching performance in All-Star Game history, with the 15 K's being one short of the nine-inning record and the three (3) hits allowed tying for the second fewest - in fact, there was only one triple-digit pitch thrown the entire game for the American League - - New York Yankees teammates Cody Bellinger & Ben Rice, both left-handed batters, delivered RBIs to give the AL a quick 3-0 lead before Phillies fans could finish their Philly Cheesesteaks - which was a bit of a rarity for hometown/Philadelphia (or NL) pitcher Cristopher Sanchez, who allowed a .137 average to lefty's in the first half - - **NOTE: Bellinger earned MVP honors for his two-out, two-run single, whereas Rice followed with an RBI single, the first time since 1962 that two Yankees had an RBI in an MLB All-Star Game. . .Q: What are your thoughts on the AL's dominant pitching performance, and 4-0 shutout victory over the NL in Tuesday night's MLB All-Star Game at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia?. . - NFL - - RB Alvin Kamara will play for the New Orleans Saints in 2026 on a reworked contract, his agent confirmed to the NFL Network on Wednesday afternoon - - Kamara's restructured deal will pay him a base salary of $6 million this season with a chance to make up to $8.5 million with incentives, per Ian Rapoport - - Kamara had been set to make up to $11.5 million in base salary this season, although the Saints re-negotiated his contract for salary cap pur...