Welcome Back to the Tradition's Finest Podcast! Episode 146 - The "Here Lies the 46 Defense" includes a discussion of the following sports-related topics: - NCAA: News & Storylines - - NCAA College Football: Florida State football will retire Sebastian Janikowski's No.38 jersey on Aug. 29, as the ceremony will take place during the team's college football season opener at Doak Campbell Stadium: kickoff for New Mexico State vs. Florida State is set for 7 p.m. ET. -- **NOTE: Janikowski becomes just the 13th Seminole to have a jersey or number retired, along with some of college football's most legendary players: Deion Sanders, Jameis Winston, Peter Warrick, Derrick Brooks, Chris Weinke, Charlie Ward, Fred Biletnikoff, Terrell Buckley, Warrick Dunn, Ron Sellers, Ron Simmons and Marvin Jones - - College football programs rarely give this honor to a kicker, but Florida State will celebrate Janikowski for good reason - - The Poland native moved to Florida before his sophomore year in high school, and eventually went on to kick for the Seminoles from 1997 through 1999 -- As a freshman, he hit a 56-yard FG against Wake Forest, a school record at the time, whereas as a sophomore, he made 27 FGs and scored a total of 123 points - both of which broke Florida State and ACC single-season records - and he also led the country by making 84.4% of his attempts -- His senior season ended with a 12-0 record and the program's seconds national title: he went 47-for-47 on extra points and led the nation with 23 FGs -- **NOTE: He finished his collegiate career 66-of-83 on FGs with 324 points, and he is still the only two-time winner of the Lou Groza Award, given to college football's best kicker annually -- And because of him, Florida State established himself as "Kicker U," highlighted by the fact that a Seminole has won that award four (4) times, twice since Janikowski's wins, a record for any program - - The Oakland Raiders took the left-footed kicker No.17 overall in the 2000 NFL Draft, as team owner Al Davis made the call, and his own building pushed back, whereas then-HC Jon Gruden and the Raiders' organization were initially "disappointed and angry that Al used a [first-round] pick on a kicker." - - The 6-foot-1, 255-pound kicker spent 17 seasons in Oakland, where he made 414 FGs and scored 1,913 points, both NFL franchise records -- His 63-yarder in 2011 tied an NFL record, and to date, no other kicker has gone in the first round in the 26 drafts since 2000. . .Q: What are your thoughts on Florida State football retiring former kicker Sebastian Janikowski's No.38 jersey during their upcoming season opener versus New Mexico State on August 29th?. . ."A Cease-and-Desist:" An attorney representing Washington Commanders QB Jayden Daniels has informed LSU that it can no longer use his name, image and likeness, according to an August 5 letter sent to Tigers AD Verge Ausberry, a copy of which was obtained by ESPN on Wednesday -- At the center of the dispute, according to a statement from Daniels' spokesperson to ESPN, is that the Tigers are allowing sophomore CB DJ Pickett to wear the No.5 jersey that Daniels wore when he became LSU's third Heisman Trophy winner in 2023 -- While Daniels' jersey hasn't been retired by the Tigers, it's the first time a player has worn No.5 since he left the program for the NFL -- Pickett wore No.3 during his first season with the Tigers in 2025 when he was named a freshman All-American, as he led LSU with three (3) INTs to go with 37 tackles and one sack in 524 defensive snaps - Pickett was wearing No.5 when the Tigers opened preseason practice last week, leading to questions about why first-year LSU HC Lane Kiffin had allowed the jersey swap to happen -- The No.9 jersey that Cincinnati Bengals QB Joe Burrow wore at LSU hasn't been worn since 2019, when he won the Heisman Trophy and led the Tigers to a 15-0 record and College Football Playoff national championship - - Kiffin told reporters Aug. 5 that Pickett had been promised he could wear No.5 when he signed with the Tigers in December 2024: Pickett had worn that number as a high school star in Zephyrhills, Florida, where he was the No.2 CB in the Class of 2025 by ESPN Recruiting -- Former LSU HC Brian Kelly told ESPN on Wednesday that he believed that the No.5 jersey was promised to Pickett during his recruitment, but Kelly chose not to issue it to him because Daniels wasn't on board with Pickett wearing his number, but Kelly was fired on Oct. 26, 2025, after his teams compiled a 34-14 record in four (4) seasons -- DJ Pickett has indicated that he will continue to wear No.5 despite the letter issued to the University per Jayden Daniels' attorney. . .Q: What are your thoughts on Jayden Daniels' cease-and-desist letter indicating that LSU may no longer use his name, image and likeness, after allowing CB DJ Pickett to wear his No.5 jersey?. . . - NBA - - Don Nelson, aged 86, the second-winningest coach in NBA history, a five-time NBA champion as a player and member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, has died, it was announced Sunday -- **NOTE: In 31 seasons as an NBA HC with the Milwaukee Bucks, Golden State Warriors (twice), New York Knicks and Dallas Mavericks, Nelson finished with a regular-season record of 1,335-1,063 -- He retired with the most coaching wins ever, a mark that was broken by the San Antonio Spurs' Gregg Popovich in March 2022 - - Nelson made 18 playoff appearances as a coach, finishing with a 75-91 postseason record - and was a three-time winner of the NBA Coach of the Year award (1983, '85, '92) but never won an NBA championship as a coach -- As a player, Nelson won five (5) NBA titles in 11 seasons with the Boston Celtics, who retired his No.19 jersey in 1978 - he played 14 seasons in the league -- Immediately following his playing career, Nelson joined the Milwaukee Bucks as an assistant coach for the 1976-77 season - and only 15 games into that season, he was promoted to HC after Larry Costello was fired -- While at Milwaukee, he used an unorthodox coaching style that became known as "Nellie Ball" to put together a Hall of Fame resume during his 31 seasons: Nellie Ball proved to be ahead of its time, utilizing smaller, more athletic players to fuel a fast-paced offense that prioritized creating mismatches through speed - as it was a philosophy that was adopted across the league long after he retired: Nelson's fast-paced offenses were probably best on display during his first stint in Golden State in the early 1990s - the "Run TMC" era featuring future Hall of Famers Tim Hardaway, Mitch Richmond and Chris Mullin - as Nelson said he wanted the trio of guards on the court at the same time, a daring idea at the time, that today, is commonplace across the NBA. . ."One-of-One:" Cooper Flagg's coveted one-of-one numbered rookie debut patch autograph card was found in Rhode Island on Monday night -- Members of RhodyBreakers, a division of the Baseball Cards of Rhode Island retail shop that opens boxes of trading cards on a live stream for clients, were on a stream when they pulled the much-sought-after card: The card, which Flagg signed during Fanatics Fest last month, has drawn significant attention - including from the Dallas Mavericks, who offered a "bounty" in exchange for it -- The jersey Flagg wore in the first half of his NBA debut - from which the card's patch is made - sold for $1 million in February -- A similar exclusive card featuring the MLB's Pittsburgh Pirates star pitcher Paul Skenes recently sold for $1.1 million, leading to much speculation that Flagg's card could fetch, at minimum, that much in an auction -- The owner of Flagg's card will be hard-pressed to part with it, but the Mavericks recently made their case with an offer that includes the following: (a) two Mavericks' premium season tickets for the next 32 years, (b) a signed, game-worn Flagg rookie jersey plus a postgame photo with the star, (c) a private photo shoot with the NBA ROTY trophy, (d) an all-expenses paid road trip with the team, and more -- **NOTE: The current highest paid for any Cooper Flagg trading card, to date, is $366,000 in a March 2026 auction. . .Q: Serious question: Are you taking the Dallas Mavericks' offer OR are you holding onto the one-of-one Cooper Flagg rookie debut patch autograph card, to ultimately, sell it to the highest bidder?. . .The Los Angeles Lakers are being sold to Josh Kushner and Bog Iger for $12.5 billion, a record-breaking price, as per multiple sources who informed ESPN of the deal -- The businessmen were involved in the expansion process in Las Vegas, but in a stunning turn, they pivoted to make an aggressive offer to purchase the Lakers from Mark Walter, who purchased a controlling interest in the team from the Buss family last year for a then-record franchise valuation of approximately $10 billion -- Walter, the CEO and chair of diversified holding company TWG Global, has been the Lakers' majority owner since last October when his bid was unanimously approved by the NBA - and similarly, the sale to Kushner & Iger will still need approval from the NBA's Board of Governors, and that process can take up to several weeks - with the next board meeting scheduled to take place next month in New York -- Walter, who built his financial empire in the insurance industry, is under federal investigation for alleged tax fraud by other companies tied to the billionaire, including the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) -- Kushner, 41, founded venture capital firm Thrive Capital and is the co-founder and vice chairman of Oscar Health - Kushner, who is the brother of U.S. President Donald Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, runs Thrive Eternal, the investment fund to which FIFA wanted to sell a minority stake to run its World Cup tournaments for $4.2 billion, however, primarily due to the controversy surrounding the news, FIFA president Giannis Infantino withdrew that proposal earlier this month -- Ku
