By Cyote Williams | Times Vedette
Bobby Bonilla Day
Those of you who know what Bobby Bonilla Day is already know what I am writing about. Those who don’t are in for a treat.
Bobby Bonilla, former MLB player from 1986 to 2001, had a solid career. He hit .279, made six All-Star teams, had more than 2,000 hits and more than 1,000 RBIs. But, what he’s most known for is not his baseball ability.
Bonilla was traded from the Los Angeles Dodgers to the New York Mets in the 1999 season. The Mets wanted to release Bonilla at the end of the year. But, Bonilla was still owed quite a bit of money. Bonilla negotiated a settlement with the Mets where they would pay him out $1.19 million on July 1 every year from 2011 through 2035. July 1 is now known as Bobby Bonilla Day around the sports media landscape. ESPN has a great breakdown of the negotiations as to why the Mets didn’t just fork over the cash initially. It partially involves Bernie Maddoff. I learned while researching this that Bonilla has a similar agreement with the Orioles, which pay him $500,000 every year from 2004 to 2028.
Lebron on the move
Lebron James is, in my opinion, the greatest basketball player of all time. He has done things in the NBA that will never be replicated and set records that may never be broken. He is setting yet another precedent.
Lebron informed the Los Angeles Lakers that he would not be staying with the team and that they should proceed through the offseason without him in mind. The Lakers got to work quickly and signed several players with money that would have likely gone to Lebron. Lebron and his agent stated that his next team would be chosen however Lebron sees fit, and that he would accept a minimum contract to make it happen.
Rumors have since swirled. Lebron’s agent said they listened to pitches from more than a dozen teams. Will he join the Golden State Warriors to play alongside longtime friends and future Hall of Famers Steph Curry and Draymond Green? Will he return to his hometown Cleveland Cavaliers for one last journey on a roster loaded with talent? Or, will he return to the Miami Heat, where he won his first championship, and the team that just made a blockbuster deal for one of the league’s top stars, Giannis Antetokounmpo. Or, could he go elsewhere? Aging stars tend to go where they please at the end of their careers, but none of them has been as talented as Lebron is at this age. At 41, Lebron can turn any team into a contender, and any contender into a championship favorite.
World Cup madness
The World Cup knock rounds have been underway, and fans have been treated to some instant classics. Morocco upset the Netherlands in a penalty shootout. Germany lost in an even bigger upset against Paraguay, also in penalties. This upset was made even crazier by the fact that the Germans are known as being excellent penalty takers, having not lost in a shootout since 1976. Belgium completed an unthinkable comeback win against Senegal. They were down 2-0 until the 86 minute mark when Romelu Lukaku scored, followed by another Belgian goal just three minutes later that send it into extra time, where they would eventually win in the 120+5 minute.
To quick fire results, England required heroics from captain Harry Kane to narrowly beat DR Congo late in the game. Norway barely snuck past the Ivory Coast thanks to a late goal from their star, Erling Haaland. Brazil barely beat Japan, also thanks to a last-minute winner from Gabriel Martinelli. Of the 16 games in the round of 32, so far, eight have been decided by one goal. The United States nearly made it nine, if not for this beautiful Mark Tillman free kick against Bosnia and Herzegovina on Wednesday night.
Reach out with comments, suggestions, story ideas and more to cyote@dmcityview.com.