LOTS OF STUFF ... FROM FLAGG TO FUTBOL ... AND MORE

 Some Opinion, Mostly Fact:

COOPER FLAGG … Cooper Flagg … Cooper 

Flagg. Might as well get used to the name … that is, if 

you eat-sleep, live-die (ad nauseam) college basketball 

… From that hotbed of hoops, Maine (the state), Flagg 

is a 6-9, 200 pounder who scores, rebounds, sets up 

teammates and blocks shots … and does all of the 

above so well that he’s considered a lock for No. 1 in 

the 2025 NBA draft … That is, of course, if he chooses 

(as expected) to be one-and-done at Duke, which Flagg 

selected over Connecticut because he’s always been a 

fan of the Blue Devils … who should be heavy 

favorites to succeed UConn as national champions … 

Flagg, who won’t be 18 until Dec. 21, enrolled at Duke 

in June … and immediately added to the Legend of 

Cooper as the only freshman member of a select team 

whose sole purpose has been to get the U.S. Olympic 

entry ready for the Summer Games in Paris … Guess 

what? He has been so outstanding in all phases of the 

game that witnesses to the closed sessions have said 

not to be surprised if several NBA teams start … ahh, 

resting their star players after the all-star break in order 

to have a better chance at winning the draft lottery … 

in other words, tanking for Flagg. Stay tuned.

……. If size matters in the NHL … then why did the 

Washington Capitals draft super-smurf COLE 

HUTSON (5-10, 165), a defenseman, in the second 

round (43d overall)? Oh, I know … to keep the 

Rangers from adding him to their collection. 

Rangers offered tough-but-injury-prone defenseman

 RYAN LINDGREN $3.6 million for each of two 

seasons starting in 2025 … and he’s taking them to 

arbitration. Could be a mistake ...There remains some 

hope the Broadway Blueshirts can unload defenseman

 JACOB TROUBA … and his $8 million per annum 

contract that has two years to go. Buffalo, Anaheim 

and Nashville joined Detroit in showing interest in the 

NY captain.

……. Even LIONEL MESSI can miss a PK. He 

glanced one off the crossbar to open the 2024 Copa 

America semifinal shootout against Ecuador … but 

keeper EMILIANO MARTINEZ made a couple of b-

i-g saves, and favored Venezuela, held to 1-1 over 120 

minutes-plus, reached the final after (as they say in 

soccer-speak) winning 4-2 in penalties.

The U.S. Soccer Federation reportedly will make a 

decision on national men’s team coach GREGG 

BERHALTER this week. What’s to decide? The 

bigger question is: Who can they get to replace him … 

two years before World Cup 2026 comes to North 

America? … Fox studio host ROB STONE: “America 

thinks big, right? If they’re going to make a move, 

they’ve got to think big,” he said after Berhalter’s 

under-achievers failed to get out of group play. “This 

guy up in Liverpool is out of work right now. There’s a 

guy in Manchester who loves to spend time in this 

country … JURGEN KLOPP, PEP GUARDIOLA 

…Either think big or go home … and we’re going 

home from Copa America.”

I know, I know … money should be no object but … 

consider Klopp was making 22.6 million pounds 

($28.9M American), including a base salary of 15 

million pounds, with Liverpool when his contract 

expired this past season … and he decided to walk 

away … In a contract that runs out in 2025, Guardiola 

is paid 21 million pounds per by Manchester City, like 

Liverpool a perennial top team in the English Premier 

League ... and is said to be the third richest soccer 

coach in the world with assets of $120M-plus. He also 

is paid handsomely for endorsements by such 

corporate heavyweights as Nissan and PUMA … 

Klopp ranked seventh among richest coaches with 

$80M … Depending on the source, Berhalter gets 

anywhere from $1.6-to-2.1 million annually in a 

recently-renewed contract that runs through 2026 … 

For those who prefer a homebred coach, former 

USMNT star JESSE MARSCH, with four coaching 

stops in Europe (among them EPL Leeds United) … 

and with an upbeat, crowd-pleasing style of play … 

seemed like a perfect replacement for Berhalter except 

… he became coach of the Canadian national men’s 

team in May on a contract that also expires with the 

next World Cup … after rejecting an offer from South 

Korea … What’s more, Marsch, 50, has been an 

outspoken critic of Berhalter … as well as the USSF 

after being treated less than fairly (he said) in the 

previous search for a new coach … That might have 

been a mistake (to say the least). While Mexico and 

the U.S., failed miserably, Canada advanced to the 

semifinals … despite being less than well-funded 

(among other things).

Here’s an idea … why not JOSE MOURINHO, who 

has coached at several high-profile stops including 

Manchester United? He’s available after being fired by 

FS Roma in January … and is guaranteed to create a 

stir that will command instant interest in men’s soccer 

in this country. Like Klopp and Guardiola, Mourinho 

certainly doesn’t need the money. He also is said to be 

worth in excess of $120M … On second thought, 

never mimd.

……. Why is it … every time you see something that 

simply doesn’t make sense, you first consider the fix is 

in? I mean, why not? Legalized gambling has taken 

over the games people play … the ultimate get-rich-

quick syndrome … which makes shaving points or 

simply determining the outcome high on the list of 

possibilities … and probably happens a lot, a cynic 

would say. All of which is a lead-in to the Sweet 

Science, a one-time favorite here ...

……. It has been a while since we watched big-time 

boxing on TV … and now we know why. Saturday 

night O’SHAQUIE FOSTER dominatedROBSON 

CONCEICAO. It was so one-sided that ESPN’s

 MARK KRIEGEL gave Foster all but one round. 

119-109, in defense of his WBO junior lightweight 

championship in Newark, N.J. After 12 rounds you 

only had to look at the challenger’s battered, bleeding 

face to know who won … except the judges, who saw 

a split decision and new champion … which led 

Kriegel to stammer in disbelief, “No way … that is 

ridiculous … what are we doing? … He didn’t even 

touch the man. WHAT ARE WE DOING?”… I give 

up.

Until next time ...