Let’s hear it for the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament, the annual scouting festival for college seniors taking place this week at Churchland High School.
In one form or another, the PIT has been around for 71 years, only seven fewer than the NBA. That’s staying power. The names and talents of the players that fans and foreign and domestic bird-dogs come to see often are not so well known, but that’s practically the charm of the event that’s woven into the fabric of the community.
Clipped wings: The Orioles assured everyone that they wouldn’t drop back this season despite fielding a hodge-podge pitching staff. But after failing to retain Corbin Burnes or bring in another bona fide No. 1 starter, and with injuries to the pitching staff,
Baltimore is the only MLB team with an ERA over 5 from the starting rotation.
The most conspicuous miscalculation was expecting good things from 41-year-old Charlie Morton — currently 0-4 with an ERA of 8.84. Closer Felix Bautista is back this season. What the Birds need are better openers.
Future watch: If all goes to plan, the Commanders will have a new playpen on the site of RFK Stadium by 2030. And what will happen to the much-maligned Landover, Maryland, stadium? Will it be torn down or fall down?
Quarterback chatter: The “nepo baby” vibe is strong when Deion Sanders’ son Shedeur gets so much more media attention as a possible top-10 pick than Cam Ward receives as the draft’s clear No. 1.
Timing issue: The Tennessee Titans, Ward’s expected future employer, are already on the clock, as the NFL insiders glibly say. We’re all on the clock.
To-do list: Will or won’t the Giants take Shedeur Sanders with the third overall pick? Who knows? This is a franchise that passed in 2018 on Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson.
Go with defense: With Abdul Carter being compared to Cowboys star Micah Parsons, the Giants should take more of a sure thing in the Penn State wrecking ball and look for a quarterback in 2026. Next-best to a franchise quarterback is an edge rusher who can harass the opposing QB.
Stupefying: Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People for 2025 features six current or former athletes, including two WNBA players, but omits Caitlin Clark, whose influence has created the biggest audience ever for women’s basketball. Airball by Time.
The club: Rory McIlroy joined the short list of golfers with a career Grand Slam. Not on that list is Arnold Palmer. Didn’t diminish his influence, though, did it?
The Pitts: Another week, another round of jaded speculation on what Aaron Rodgers is thinking. The Steelers remain trapped in a hostage situation of their own making. A sad sight.
Next step: By asking for a raise of up to a reported $4 million for next season, Nico Iamaleava overplayed his hand before Tennessee cut him loose. But suddenly suffering from quarterback insecurity, the Vols will poach a passer from another program. So it goes, as the NCAA stands by helplessly.
Bottom line: If, as expected, Iamaleava turns up at UCLA, he reportedly won’t get anything approaching $4 million. And owing to California taxes, whatever he’s paid will be worth less than had he stayed in Tennessee.
One of one: Nuggets walking triple-double Nikola Jokic is the NBA’s MVP. Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the best player on the NBA’s winningest team, but Jokic is third in the league in scoring and rebounds and second in assists. He fills up a
box score like nobody else while making everyone around him better.
On fire: Aaron Judge has come out of the gate very fast; he was first or second among MLB players in batting average, home runs and RBIs going into Thursday’s games. Very impressive, but not so surprising. Nobody’s a bigger threat with the bat.
Bob Molinaro is a former Virginian-Pilot sports columnist. His Weekly Briefing runs Fridays in The Pilot and Daily Press. He can be reached at bob5molinaro@gmail.com and via Twitter@BobMolinaro.