1st Down: NASCAR will make history on July 2nd of 2023 when the Cup Series descends on Chicago for the first ever Street course race. The Cup Series has ran on dirt, a beach, asphalt, road courses, and even in the LA Coliseum, though that was an exhibition race, but now they will go a step further by racing on an actual street course for the first time. Long talked about as a point of interest, it will now happen, with the primary goal to be to attract new fans via racing and other means in a more central area. The proposed layout would be a 12-turn, 2.2 mile track that uses the Chicago skyline as a backdrop. The race will replace Road America’s on the schedule.
2nd Down: The Miami Heat are looking to make a big trade in order to remain contenders in the Eastern Conference. And at the moment, according to sources, they are prioritizing Kevin Durant over Donovan Mitchell. While the team recognizes that Durant is more expensive- and older- than the Jazz’s main star, they still accept that he is the best player and want to win right away with Jimmy Butler only getting older. With Miami having limited draft picks to trade, it also complicates an exchange with Utah as they are looking to do a ‘hard’ rebuild.
3rd Down: The Cleveland Browns, according to reports, are preparing to be without new quarterback Deshaun Watson for the first half or so of the NFL season. The Browns are said to be ready to be without their QB for the first eight games as they expect the league to suspend him on the upper level of what is allowed via league rules. While all of that is conjecture, it looks as if the team is simply trying to come up with a ‘Plan B’ just in case. Jacoby Brissett is currently the next QB line on the roster, but there is talk they could look elsewhere if- or when- Watson is sidelined.
4th Down: Nate Diaz, it appears, finally may have the fight he’s been asking for. The UFC star has begged the promotion to let him fight his final fight of his contract for seemingly months now, and Dana White and co. have given him one of the toughest possible bouts they could. The man he is set to fight will be undefeated Khamzat Chimaev, with the date supposedly September 20th and slated to be the headliner of UFC 279. Diaz is 20-13 and is exploring boxing after his contract expires while Chimaev, a breakout star, is 11-0 and coming off an exception win over Gilbert Burns (via decision) at UFC 273 in April.
