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MEMPHIS The Minnesota Timberwolves-Memphis Grizzlies first-round playoff series didnt need anymore spice. But a friendly rivalry between the fathers of Grizzlies star Ja Morant and Timberwolves counterpart Karl-Anthony Towns added a new level of trash talk anyway.

Tee Morant and Karl-Anthony Towns Sr. arent ducking any smoke, or any cameras.

In a sideline interview on NBA TV, the dads continued their playful trash talking on Tuesday night.

Towns Sr. joked about fans leaving early when Memphis held a big lead to which Morant playfully chided him with the now infamous, We aint duckin no smoke.

They exchanged banter about how many wins each team has had in the postseason and how many games would be left in this series. And, of course, there is a wager on this series.

The dads revealed their wager during Game 1.

If the No. 2-seeded Grizzlies win, Towns Sr. will wear a Ja Morant jersey; and if the No. 7-seeded Timberwolves win, Morant will wear a Karl-Anthony Towns jersey.

The duo has been spirited in both games of the series so far, and both are ardent supporters of their sons.

Morant led the Grizzlies to a 124-96 win in Game 2 to tie the series at 1-1. He had 23 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds. Towns had 15 points and 11 boards for the Timberwolves.

Game 3 is Thursday in Minneapolis.

Tee Morant, father of Ja Morant, has a friendly wager with Karl-Anthony Towns Sr. on the outcome of their sons' NBA playoffs first-round series. (AP Photo/Brandon Dill)

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Ja Morant and Karl-Anthony Towns' dads are still trash talking with bet on the line - Yahoo Sports

This article first appeared in the Morning Brief. Get the Morning Brief sent directly to your inbox every Monday to Friday by 6:30 a.m. ET. Subscribe

Wednesday, April 20, 2022

Today's newsletter is by Brian Cheung, an anchor and reporter covering the Fed, economics, and banking for Yahoo Finance. You can follow him on Twitter @bcheungz.

Americans are not the only ones feeling the pain of high inflation. Its bogging down almost every other nation as well.

A fresh round of economic forecasts from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Tuesday lowered global growth prospects, in part because of rising price pressures. Making matters worse: the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Inflation is a clear and present danger for many economies, IMF Chief Economist Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas told Yahoo Finance Tuesday. In January, the IMF projected global growth of 4.4% in 2022. Yesterdays update downgraded that forecast to 3.6%.

Globally, the IMF predicts that prices in advanced economies (like the U.S.) will rise by 5.7% this year. In emerging market and developing economies, inflation is projected to clock in at 8.7% this year.

Those figures make it clear that inflation is not a phenomenon exclusive to the U.S., where Consumer Price Index readings from March showed prices rising by 8.5% year-over-year.

inflation

The IMF warns that these pressures will remain elevated for longer than it had originally expected earlier in the year, due to the disruption to energy and metal exports from Russia and wheat exports from Ukraine. A zero-COVID policy in China could scramble supply chains out of Asia as infections rise.

All of this means that central banks like the Federal Reserve will have to deliver the medicine of higher borrowing costs to tamp down on inflation. In the U.S., Fed Chairman Jerome Powell is on the warpath against higher interest rates, with all signs pointing to a king-sized interest rate increase of 0.50% next month (not done since 2000).

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The Bank of England is a few steps ahead of the Fed on tightening, and the European Central Bank appears poised to follow soon.

The problem: the cure could be worse than the disease. Pull the crisis-era stimulus too fast, and the central banks could tip the economy into recession (see: yield curve inversion).

This is certainly a serious downside risk, Gourinchas said Tuesday, adding that central banks need to be careful as they walk that fine line.

Either way, the outcome is going to be the same.

Raise rates and lower inflation? Higher borrowing costs lowers consumption and leads to slower growth.

Move too slow and inflation runs rampant? High prices erase wage gains and lowers consumption and leads to slower growth.

Economy

7:00 a.m. ET: MBA Mortgage Applications, week ended April 15 (-1.3% during prior week)

8:30 a.m. ET: Existing home sales, March (5.78 million expected, 6.02 million in February)

2:00 p.m. ET: Federal Reserve releases Beige Book

Earnings

Pre-market

6:00 a.m. ET: Anthem (ANTM) is expected to report adjusted earnings of $7.73 per share on revenue of $37.47 billion

7:00 a.m. ET: Nasdaq (NDAQ) is expected to report adjusted earnings of $1.95 per share on revenue of $892.00 million

7:00 a.m. ET: Baker Hughes (BKR) is expected to report adjusted earnings of 19 cents per share on revenue of $5.00 billion

7:00 a.m. ET: Procter & Gamble (PG) is expected to report adjusted earnings of $1.29 per share on revenue of $17.73 billion

7:30 a.m. ET: Abbott Laboratories (ABT) is expected to report adjusted earnings of $1.47 per share on revenue of $11.00 billion

Post-market

4:00 p.m. ET: CSX Corp. (CSX) is expected to report adjusted earnings of 37 cents per share on revenue of $3.31 billion

4:05 p.m. ET: Kinder Morgan (KMI) is expected to report adjusted earnings of 28 cents per share on revenue of $3.72 billion

4:10 p.m. ET: Alcoa Corp. (AA) is expected to report adjusted earnings of $2.84 per share on revenue of $3.44 billion

4:10 p.m. ET: Tenet Healthcare (THC) is expected to report adjusted earnings of $1.03 per share on revenue of $4.70 billion

4:15 p.m. ET: Crown Castle International (CCI) is expected to report adjusted earnings of $1.87 per share on revenue of $403.60 million

4:30 p.m. ET: United Airlines (UAL) is expected to report adjusted losses of $4.23 per share on revenue of $7.67 billion

4:30 p.m. ET: Steel Dynamics (STLD) is expected to report adjusted earnings of $5.66 per share on revenue of $5.32 billion

4:40 p.m. ET: Equifax (EFX) is expected to report adjusted earnings of $2.14 per share on revenue of $1.33 billion

After market close: Tesla (TSLA) is expected to report adjusted earnings of $2.27 per share on revenue of $17.92 billion

Global economy to 'slow significantly' following Russian invasion of Ukraine: IMF

One big challenge facing Tesla that has nothing to do with Elon Musk's Twitter bid

Biden administration to erase student debt of more than 40,000 borrowers

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High inflation? It's a global story too: Morning Brief - Yahoo Finance

An all-quarterback version of The Match is coming this summer.

Tom Brady announced on Monday morning that he will be pairing up with Green Bay Packers star Aaron Rodgers in The Match on June 1. The two will square off against Kansas City Chiefs star Patrick Mahomes and Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen.

Though the battle wont feature any actual PGA Tour golfers, its sure to be entertaining considering four of the last five league MVPs will be on the course together. The trash talk started instantly from all sides, too.

The Match will be a 12-hole exhibition battle at the Wynn Las Vegas on June 1. So far, The Match has raised nearly $33 million for charity.

Rodgers and Brady competed last year against each other while paired up with Phil Mickelson and Bryson DeChambeau. This time, though, will be the first of the six versions of The Match without a single PGA Tour golfer.

Mahomes and Allen are decent golfers themselves, however, and should be able to hold their own against the two veteran quarterbacks. Allen played in the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro Am in February, and Mahomes played in last years American Century Championship celebrity tournament. Allen is reportedly a 9.0 handicap, and Mahomes is a 7.7 handicap.

An all-quarterback version of The Match is coming in June. (Stacy Revere/Getty Images for The Match)

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Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers to face-off against Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen in The Match - Yahoo Sports

Carolina Panthers linebacker Damien Wilson was arrested in Texas last week after he allegedly threatened to kill his ex-girlfriend, according to The Dallas Morning News.

Wilson, who got his NFL start with the Dallas Cowboys, was arrested in Frisco and was charged with assault with bodily injury of a family member.

Wilsons ex-girlfriend said she broke up with him, and that Wilson showed up at her apartment and threatened to kill her with a tire iron, per the report. She also said that Wilson took her laptop and put it in a blanket and then smashed it on the ground, but said that it was her cat inside.

I was screaming like Im being skinned alive, his ex-girlfriend, Ryan Sokolosky, told The Morning News.

She said he broke her laptop after slamming it to the ground and that he tried to run her over in a vehicle before he drove away. He also allegedly choked Sokolskys friend who was with her at the time of the incident.

Sokolosky said she has obtained a protective order against Wilson.

He thinks all of this is a joke because hes rich and thinks hes going to get out of everything, she told The Morning News.

Wilsons attorney denied the allegations against him.

Damien Wilson did not commit any type of assault, Toby Shook said, via The Morning News. We look forward to all the facts coming out so his name can be cleared.

Wilson was arrested on two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon in 2017 after he was accused of brandishing a rifle outside of a soccer venue. A grand jury declined to indict him.

Wilson was drafted by the Cowboys in 2015, and spent his first four seasons there before joining the Kansas City Chiefs in 2019. He spent last season with the Jacksonville Jaguars, and then signed a two-year deal with the Panthers this offseason. Wilson has 381 career tackles in his seven seasons in the league, 106 of which came last year.

Damien Wilson's ex-girlfriend said he threatened to kill her, broke her laptop and more after they broke up last week. (Dustin Satloff/Getty Images)

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Panthers LB Damien Wilson arrested after allegedly threatening to kill his ex-girlfriend - Yahoo Sports

It is less than five days before he walks to the ring at Wembley Stadium in London to defend his titles against Dillian Whyte and heavyweight champion Tyson Fury still has not disassociated himself from alleged mobster Daniel Kinahan.

Promoter Frank Warren told the BBC Monday that Kinahan, whom the U.S. government contends runs one of the largest drug cartels in the world, has had no involvement in Saturdays bout for the WBC and lineal heavyweight titles.

But Fury, who was pictured with Kinahan in Dubai in February, has yet to disavow his adviser.

The U.S. government last week at an extraordinary news conference in Dublin, Ireland, tabbed Kinahan as the leader of the Kinahan Organized Crime Group. Hes suspected of murder, of being the leader of one of the largest drug cartels in the world and a gun trafficker.

At the news conference, U.S. government officials put a $5 million reward on Kinahan, as well as $5 million each on his father and brother, for his arrest and conviction. The Kinahans have been notorious for years in their native Ireland, though the U.S. governments involvement in their case ratchets up the scrutiny on them worldwide.

Sanctions put into place by the U.S. are designed to prevent Kinahan from seeing any of that, but mobsters dont easily walk away from the kind of money this fight will produce. In Furys four fights in Las Vegas from 2019 through 2021, Kinahan earned a minimum of $1 million a bout as consulting fees for fights against Tom Schwarz, Otto Wallin and two against Deontay Wilder.

Saturday's fight is sold out with a European-record crowd of around 94,000 expected. The paid gate will be more than $20 million U.S. The pay-per-view in the U.K. could hit 2 million, and with another several hundred thousand in the U.S. at $75 a pop, a more than tidy sum will be generated.

Fury himself will earn the bulk of it. But how much of the money that is generated will go to Daniel Kinahan may never be known.

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Though hes normally referred to as an adviser, Kinahan is one of the worlds most prolific managers of boxers. He is the co-founder of MTK Global, though the company said in a news release last week it's had nothing to do with him since 2017.

Scores of fighters, though, take Kinahan's advice and offer their fealty to him. He become powerful because hed offer low, or sometimes no, managerial fees. Hes been accused of getting into combat sports to launder both money he earned from the drug business as well as to enhance his reputation. Hes garnered more fighters and gained more success as hes landed more prominent fighters. The most prominent of those has been Fury.

Top Ranks Bob Arum is Furys co-promoter, and has worked closely with the alleged mob boss for several years. Several times during that span, Arum said Kinahan would no longer advise Fury, but Kinahan always managed to stick around.

In a June 24, 2020, story in the Irish Times, Arum lavished Kinahan with praise even as he said Kinahan was out. At the time, talks were ongoing to put together a fight between Fury and Anthony Joshua, who had three of the four heavyweight belts.

Weve talked with Dan [Kinahan], who Tyson and I both love and admire and respect, and he understands that its best the negotiations on Tysons side be handled that way, Arum told the Irish Times about talks for a Fury-Anthony Joshua fight. Both Tyson and I have each discussed this with Dan and he is amenable and satisfied and wished us luck. He only wants the best for Tyson Fury.

Tyson Fury has yet to disavow alleged mobster Daniel Kinahan ahead of Saturday's fight versus Dillian Whyte at Wembley Stadium. (Photo by Tolga Akmen/AFP via Getty Images)

Kinahan has lived in Dubai since 2016. He fled there after rival gang members, disguised as police officers, ambushed a weigh-in for an MTK Global fight card and shot it up, killing one man. Police in Ireland believe Kinahan was the target.

Officials at the Dublin news conference last week advised those in combat sports to stay away from Kinahan and urged them not to do business with him. The sanctions the U.S. put on him freeze his assets, including his bank accounts, in this country.

Despite that, his most prominent client hasnt taken a public stance against him. Fury has been reluctant to speak about Kinahan in the past, but the seriousness of the charges and President Bidens interest in his case ratchets up the pressure on him to do something.

Fury, and other fighters advised/managed by Kinahan, had plausible deniability prior to last weeks news conference. That cover, though, no longer exists.

During the Watergate investigation in 1973, U.S. Sen. Howard Baker became famous when he asked then-White House counsel John Dean: "What did the President know and when did he know it?"

To paraphrase the late Sen. Baker, what did Fury know about Kinahans past and when did he know it?

No one is alleging that Fury, or any of the other fighters, are involved in untoward activities with Kinahan. But by ignoring the serious allegations against him, it provides Kinahan the cover to continue laundering money through the fight game.

The other problem is that mobsters have many times in the past attempted to fix the outcome of fights. With legalized betting on fights pretty much worldwide now, the integrity of the matches are paramount.

While there is no allegation or indication that Kinahan or anyone close to him has done this, its happened frequently enough in the past when the American mob was involved with boxing to create a concern.

Fury doesnt need the taint that Kinahan now brings. Kinahan has given fighters money to help them out of his personal wealth. The result is that Kinahan fighters are exceptionally loyal. Most, if ever asked about associating with him, have responded that he hadnt been charged or convicted of a crime. Thats now changed.

Given the U.S. governments actions last week, its time for all of those who do business with Kinahan to do the same as Fury must do: Cut all ties with Kinahan before its too late.

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Tyson Fury fight week tainted by heavyweight champion's silence on ties to alleged mobster - Yahoo Sports

Amazon workers arriving at one company warehouse on Easter Sunday were greeted with a cheerful message from management.

As a holiday incentive, there would be a contest, and a raffle. Those who picked products above a certain speed would be entered into a draw to win a goody bag.

"Thank you all for coming in on Easter Sunday!" the note said. Good Luck everyone and THANK YOU!!!

The grand prize? Water or soda plus a candy bar or bag of chips, worth roughly $2. An amount that when compared to Amazon founder Jeff Bezoss hourly haul generated a wave of ridicule from Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and many others across social media.

Bezos, the second-richest man on earth after Elon Musk, has a net worth of $177 billion as calculated by the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

The Amazon founder earns $8,961,187 a dayroughly 315 times Amazon's $28,466 median annual worker payaccording to a recent report by Business Insider. And each minute he earns $152,000, more than three times what the median U.S. worker makes in a year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Amazon workers were greeted with this message on Easter Sunday.@BusinessInsider calculated Jeff Bezos receives $152K/minute, while workers slog through a 10-12 hour shift for the chance to win a $2 snack raffle. pic.twitter.com/yezIzc5vtk

— More Perfect Union (@MorePerfectUS) April 18, 2022

The raffle garnered a strong Internet response and heightened anger toward Amazon's anti-union behavior.

Sen. Bernie Sanders called out Amazons corporate greed and mentioned Bezoss $500 million yacht and $175 million Beverly Hills estate. He left out Bezos's $16 million apartment on New York's Fifth Avenue, however, as well as his four condos overlooking Central Park in the same city, his 10-bedroom house in Washington, D.C., and the 30,000-acre ranch he owns in Texas.

Corporate greed is Jeff Bezos becoming $152,000 richer a MINUTE, owning a $500 million yacht & a $175 million Beverly Hills estate, while Amazon employees who worked over 10 hours on Easter Sunday might be "lucky enough” to win a $2 snack pack. Yes. Amazon workers need a union. https://t.co/8BH0xmuYqP

— Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) April 19, 2022

Dan Price, the founder of credit card processing company Gravity Payments who famously raised the minimum salary for employees at his company to $70,000 and lowered his own wage from $1.1 million to the same amount, also called out Amazon's work practices.

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yeah but they said THANK YOU in all caps. That sounds like a caring environment!

— Dan Price (@DanPriceSeattle) April 18, 2022

For his part, author and journalist Brian Merchant sarcastically challenged Amazons fierce attempts to shut down any unionization at the company.

Amazon is really stepping up their union-busting game here—what worker would want to bother organizing if they're already getting [checks notes] a chance to win a $2 snack pack if they do uninterrupted backbreaking labor for 10-12 straight while working on Easter Sunday https://t.co/urNUBf9GgW

— Brian Merchant (@bcmerchant) April 18, 2022

Amazon workers at a New York warehouse voted on April 1 to join the independent Amazon Labor Union (ALU), a major milestone that could force the retail tech giant to become more accountable for workplace injuries and other employee complaints. Calls for unionization have been growing across the U.S., where Amazon is the second-largest employer.

Amazon has poured resources into fighting unionization efforts, however, regarding unions as an obstacle to business flexibility and warehouse efficiency. After the New York warehouse unionization vote, Amazon said it was disappointed in the outcome. We believe having a direct relationship with the company is best for our employees, wrote Amazon in a statement about the results, adding, Were evaluating our options, including filing objections based on the inappropriate and undue influence by the NLRB that we and others (including the National Retail Federation and U.S. Chamber of Commerce) witnessed in this election.

On May 2, a second Amazon facility in New Yorkthe LBJ5 sortation center on Staten Islandwill hold a union election over joining the ALU.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com

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Amazon is ridiculed for trying to motivate Easter Sunday workers with a raffle to win water and a bag of chips - Yahoo Finance

There are no clear favorites entering Sundays race at Talladega.

The race (3 p.m. ET, Fox) is the first at Talladega with the new Cup Series car. The season-opening Daytona 500 gave us a preview of what the car could likely race like at Talladega and the odds for the race are heavily influenced by the 500.

Daytona winner Austin Cindric is the No. 5 BetMGM favorite at +1400. Cindrics win came in his eighth Cup Series start and he led 21 of the races 201 laps as Team Penske appeared to have the best cars over the course of the Daytona weekend.

Thats reflected in the odds as well. Cindrics two teammates are ahead of him at +1100. Ryan Blaney finished fourth at Daytona after leading 36 laps and two of his seven Cup Series wins have come at Talladega. Joey Logano also has the same odds as Blaney. Hes got two Talladega wins too.

Logano and Blaney are tied for favorite status with Bubba Wallace and Denny Hamlin and Wallace is listed atop the board.

TALLADEGA, ALABAMA - OCTOBER 04: Bubba Wallace, driver of the #23 McDonald's Toyota, celebrates in the Ruoff Mortgage victory lane after winning the rain-shortened NASCAR Cup Series YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway on October 04, 2021 in Talladega, Alabama. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)

Wallace has nominal status as the favorite after he got his first Cup Series win in last falls rain-shortened Talladega race. He also finished second to Cindric with a damaged car in the Daytona 500. Those finishes coupled with his popularity make it clear why hes at the top of the board.

This is a board thats a lot more crowded than it typically is as well. Eighteen drivers are between +1100 and +2500. Thats almost half the field as 39 cars are set to start the race.

Heres what you need to know if you want to go hog wild and bet on Sundays race. As always, our Talladega advice is to place a lot of small-dollar bets on drivers across the board. Dont invest too much in one driver simply because you dont know when a crash is going to strike.

Bubba Wallace (+1100)

Denny Hamlin (+1100)

Joey Logano (+1100)

Ryan Blaney (+1100)

Austin Cindric (+1400)

Chase Briscoe (+1400)

Chase Elliott (+1400)

Brad Keselowski (+1400)

Told you this board is crowded. Eight drivers occupy this space and there are five more drivers at +1800. Wallaces favorite status may be obvious based on recent history but its also only based on recent history. His Talladega win was his first top-10 finish in eight starts at the track.

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His team co-owner Hamlin has two wins and 14 top-10 finishes in 32 Talladega starts. Briscoe was third at Daytona earlier this year and finished 11th and 14th in his two Talladega starts a season ago. Elliott has a win and four top-five finishes in 12 Talladega starts. Keselowski is the active wins leader at Talladega with six and has finished in the top two in each of his last two starts at the track. But Sunday is also his first Talladega race as a member of Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing.

Ross Chastain (+3300)

Martin Truex Jr. (+3300)

Chastain finished last at Daytona thanks to a crash and has never finished in the top 10 at Talladega in six starts. But his aggressiveness could play well or poorly on Sunday and he should have a fast car. Truex has been miserable at Talladega lately; he hasnt scored a top 10 since 2015. But thats a product of bad luck and that bad luck has to turn around at some point, right?

Harvick has finished fourth and eighth in his last two Talladega starts and hasnt finished outside the top 20 since he was 38th in the spring of 2019. But Harvick hasnt won at Talladega since 2010 and wed be surprised if he was in victory lane on Sunday. Wed feel better about a Harvick bet if he had longer odds.

Jones has four top-10 finishes and five DNFs in 10 Talladega starts. Thats a boom-or-bust profile. He was ninth in the fall and had a fast car at Daytona before he was taken out in a late crash.

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NASCAR at Talladega betting: Bubba Wallace is one of the four favorites at +1100 - Yahoo Sports

U.S. jobless claims held near multi-decade lows last week as companies worked to keep employees on their payrolls amid ongoing labor shortages.

The Labor Department released its latest weekly jobless claims report Thursday at 8:30 a.m. ET. Here were the main metrics from the print compared to consensus estimates compiled by Bloomberg:

Initial jobless claims, week ended April 9: 185,000 vs.170,000 expected and a revised 167,000 during prior week

Continuing claims, week ended April 2: 1.475 million vs. 1.500 million expected, 1.523 million during prior week

While first-time unemployment claims rose slightly more than expected in the latest weekly data, they were still near a 54-year low set earlier this month. Weekly claims fell to the lowest level since 1968 during the prior week at just 167,000. That compares to the average of about 218,000 new claims filed per week throughout 2019 before the pandemic. And the latest figures represent a staggering reversal from the outsized claims filed at the height of the pandemic two years ago, when claims at one point topped 6.1 million in a single week in April 2020.

Given the surge and then decline in jobless claims, the Labor Department has also now reconfigured the way it adjusts the weekly data to account for seasonal factors. Starting last week, the Labor Department returned to using "multiplicative" seasonal adjustment factors for the data. For much of the pandemic, the department had been using "additive" seasonal adjustments that help smooth out large swings in the weekly numbers.

Nevertheless, the underlying trend in the claims data has undeniably pointed to a labor market still short of sufficient worker supply to meet demand. Labor costs have risen for companies across industries as a result, and contributed to a further jump in inflation. The March Consumer Price Index (CPI) released earlier this week showed consumer-level inflation rose 8.5% in March over last year the fastest annual rate since 1981.

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"It seems like were in the midst of a perfect storm of factors with rising commodity prices, supply chain issues, and a tight labor market so it is not surprising that inflation is rising at its fastest pace in 40 years," Brian Price, head of investment management for Commonwealth Financial Network, said in an email Tuesday.

Other recent economic data have also underscored the dual concerns companies have been facing over labor supply challenges and rising costs. In the National Federation of Independent Business' latest monthly small business optimism survey released earlier this week, the firm said 31% of surveyed owners reported that inflation was their single-most important business problem, edging out "labor quality" as the top concern. That also marked the highest proportion of firms citing "inflation" as their top problem since 1981.

Inflation has impacted small businesses throughout the country and is now their most important business problem,NFIB Chief Economist Bill Dunkelberg NFIB said in the release. With inflation, an ongoing staffing shortage, and supply chain disruptions, small business owners remain pessimistic about their future business conditions.

Emily McCormick is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter: @emily_mcck

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Jobless claims: Another 185,000 Americans filed new claims last week - Yahoo Finance

Finally, after a long pause that leaned into the oddity of Tom Bradys brief retirement, were going to see the finale in the quarterbacks Man in the Arena documentary. Is it going to dig under the fingernails of the past few months or gloss it all over with a manicure?

Given the pause that has gone into this 10th and final episode, its hard to believe it will be anything but the latter.

Brady has been nothing but calculated these past few years when it has come to his brand, career and narrative. From his end with the New England Patriots which seemed to begin inside the Facebook series Tom vs. Time to seemingly every step taken inside and outside the Tampa Bay Buccaneers organization. But the past month has seen the heavily crafted plot whipsaw significantly, with overlapping reports from ProFootballTalk, The Boston Globe, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel and a handful of others. You should know these reports by now. The ones that have outlined a plan with a lot of moving parts, which would have allegedly come together with Brady in a Miami Dolphins uniform in 2022, then landing a stake in ownership down the road.

Some have criticized it all as dot-connecting mythology, despite lacking an alternative timeline that makes Bradys five-plus weeks of retirement make any sense. The fact is, it all looks more like a spider web than a smattering of dots. And most of it didnt even get deeply into the granular details that offer the fabric of a complicated plan like the two supposed Miami targets, Brady and Sean Payton, sharing agent Don Yee, or the serendipity of Brady and wife Gisele Bndchen completing their move to a $17 million Miami estate thats a half hour from the Dolphins' practice facility and 20 minutes from Hard Rock Stadium.

What's the real story behind Tom Brady's brief retirement and return to the Buccaneers? (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

Remarkable coincidences all around, none of which are likely to get anywhere near the final episode of Bradys Man in the Arena.

So what exactly is supposed to get answered in this grand finale?

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Certainly its something that could roll out some detailed descriptions and footage of what the hell happened between February and March, when Brady didnt want to commit himself to football anymore and then suddenly did again. Because theres dirt under those fingernails and plenty of time to get into all of it. Only, it likely wont. Instead, whats more likely to happen is an effort to move Brady out of the zone of anything dicey.

Exit plans? Never. Dicey relationship with a head coach? No way. Never mind if it feels familiar to the end in New England and has the very recognizable fingerprints of a narrative-controlling Tom Brady who is becoming more recognizable by the year.

If anything, the grand finale and bow that ties it all up will dovetail with the fuzzy bow Brady has already tried to put on his semi-retirement. One day he wasnt feeling the tug of football. A few weeks later he was. Simple as that. Anything else that happened that weird, dragged-out coaching search in Miami, Brady seeming wishy-washy about his football future almost from the second he retired, Arians stepping aside as head coach in Tampa Bay thats the stuff for the editing floor if you believe it would have ever been considered for a final cut in the first place.

So heres what the final episode is promising, in a release from ESPN, who is partnering with Brady on the project and has been remarkably quiet on the whole Brady/Dolphins front:

In episode 10, Brady leaves New England to start a new chapter with the Buccaneers. Joined by former teammate Rob Gronkowski in Tampa Bay, Brady captures his 7th Super Bowl title. As he reflects on life outside of football, Brady shares his hopes of living up to the example set by his hero, his father. The episode features exclusive interviews with Brady, as well as his father Tom Brady Sr. and teammate Rob Gronkowski. The docuseries is co-produced by ESPN, Religion of Sports, 199 Productions, and NFL Films.

It sounds like a dad-centered episode wrapped in something contemplative and ultimately open-ended. That apparently necessitated a long pause in the seasons rollout to produce. For reasons that likely also wont have a litany of explanation.

Perhaps it will be more. Well see. But when it comes to many of these documentaries that are really more of a miniseries of me, by me, for me with the centerpiece being the driving partner, something is going to get flushed. Betting money should land on it being most of what really went down in Bradys offseason about-face.

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The long-delayed final episode of Tom Bradys self-styled miniseries is coming. And it has a lot of explaining to do. - Yahoo Sports

Baseballs most dominant pitcher is only 20 years old. Its been 17 innings since he last allowed so much as a baserunner. On April 10, he fired a perfect game with 19 strikeouts. In his next start, this past Sunday, he threw eight more perfect innings before his manager removed him from the game. Before you ask, no, hes not on the Los Angeles Dodgers. Hes not on any MLB roster.

His name is Roki Sasaki, and he plays for the Chiba Lotte Marines in Japans Nippon Professional Baseball. At an age when many American hurlers are college juniors, Sasaki is flummoxing the second-best baseball league in the world with triple-digit fastballs and ferocious splitters.

As he piles historic performance on top of historic performance, its time to learn about the pitching star rising in Japan.

Sasaki, a 20-year-old right-hander, has been a source of intrigue and fascination since his high school days.

Originally from northeastern Japan, Sasaki lost his father when the devastating March 2011 tsunami swept away his familys home. As he grew into a star high school hurler, his fastball was clocked over 100 mph in training with the national youth team, per Jim Allen, a journalist who covers Japanese baseball.

But Sasakis high school coach and later the Marines bucked the conventions of Japanese baseball culture by holding him out of important games and ramping him up slowly into professional baseball to protect his arm.

Chiba Lotte won the draft lottery for him in 2019, but Sasaki didnt pitch at all in 2020, and then appeared in only 11 top-level NPB games last season. So embarking on a full campaign to start 2022 would already have been notable. Instead he has generated international attention by spinning off his leagues first perfect game since 1994 and shattering its records for consecutive batters retired and consecutive strikeouts.

Roki Sasaki has captivated the baseball world with 17 perfect innings. (Michael Wagstaffe / Yahoo Sports)

Its probably the best-pitched game modern professional baseball has ever seen.

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By game score, created by sabermetrics forefather Bill James to compare single-game pitching performances, Sasakis 19-strikeout perfect game rates as a 106. The best nine-inning game score in MLB history is Kerry Woods 20-strikeout game in 1998, a 105. Max Scherzers 17-strikeout no-no in 2015 is second, at 104.

In simpler terms: None of MLBs 23 perfect games have involved more than 14 strikeouts.

Within that masterpiece, Sasaki struck out 13 consecutive batters. The MLB record is 10 strikeouts in a row a mark that Mets legend Tom Seaver held alone for 51 years before it was tied by Corbin Burnes and Aaron Nola in 2021.

Yes. On Sunday, Sasaki tossed eight more perfect innings. His manager, the former major-league infielder Tadahito Iguchi, pulled him due to an elevated pitch count and signs he was tiring. Sasaki said afterward he had felt some fatigue. The Marines eventually lost the game, which was scoreless when Sasaki departed.

He will enter his next start with active streaks of 17 perfect innings and 52 straight batters retired. The MLB record for consecutive batters retired? Yusmeiro Petits 46, a number rendered less glamorous because it was recorded in relief.

Well, for starters, his fastball is averaging 98.9 mph this season. That would have beaten all major-league starters not named Jacob deGrom in 2021. It also comes with an extraordinary amount of movement though its worth noting the Japanese baseball is tackier than its MLB counterpart, which affects how much spin pitchers can impart.

His splitter is the other featured pitch. Sometimes referred to as a forkball, its a power pitch that drops off the table as it bears down on hitters. Its similar to Shohei Ohtanis favorite secondary pitch, but flies in a bit harder (about 91 mph compared to Ohtanis 88 mph splitter) and veers off more toward Sasakis arm side.

On any given day, he could be the best pitcher in the world, an MLB scout told Allen. His splitter is as good as Shohei Ohtanis.

Time for some bad news: We probably wont see Sasaki test his mettle against MLB hitters any time soon. If Sasaki decides he wants to come to America, MLB rules around international players could back him into a complicated choice.

Under the current system, he could:

A) Ask to be posted during his peak in the next few seasons, but sacrifice untold financial guarantees and enter MLB with just a limited signing bonus and a league-minimum salary, as Shohei Ohtani did.

B) Wait until he turns 25, at seasons end in 2027, to age out of MLBs restrictive policies and negotiate with teams more or less like a free agent. Exciting rookie slugger Seiya Suzuki came over from NPB this offseason and landed a five-year, $85 million deal with the Chicago Cubs.

The great unknown here is whether that particular system for MLB amateurs will remain in place. In striking a deal to end the lockout this spring, MLB and the players union left open the possibility of adopting an international draft that could govern Sasakis path to MLB if it were instituted.

The two sides have until July 25 to continue negotiations and decide on that draft. The top pick in MLBs proposed format would reportedly carry a bonus of $5.25 million more than double what Ohtani signed for but we simply dont know if those details would hold in the eventual plan, when the draft system would take effect or how it would ultimately affect Sasakis options.

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Who is Roki Sasaki? Meet the 20-year-old who almost pitched 2 perfect games in a row - Yahoo Sports