Big Day For Big Dumper

It has been a monster year for Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh in 2025. As of this writing, Cal is putting up MVP type numbers. He's hitting .247, with 107 RBis and a league leading 50 Home Runs, which he hit #50 on Monday night. Those 50 homers are the most ever by a catcher in a single season

That 50th homer set a couple of new benchmarks, for both the Mariners and Major League Baseball. From the Mariners point of view, Raleigh joins Ken Griffey Jr as the only Seattle players to slug 50 or more home runs in a season. Cal's total is still climbing after this writing. Griffey hit 56 home runs in a season, in back to back years in 1997 and 1998. That's the only time its been done. Raleigh also joins Mickey Mantle as the only switch hitters to ever swat 50 or more in a season (he's also the 8th man in history to hit the 50 mark before the end of August0. The last note is that Raleigh is the first switch hitter in history to hit 20 home runs from each side of the plate.

The record for a catcher had been 48, set by Salvador Perez back in 2021, when he finished the year with 48 long balls.

What does this mean for the Big Dumper and the M's? Well, as of this writing, Seattle is a game and a half back of the Astros for the AL West lead, and they also hold a four game lead on the final wild card spot in the AL with about five weeks to go in the season. So they are sitting in a good spot right now and can only expand on it from here.

As for the personal marks, Cal is leading the AL and second in all of baseball in RBI's and he leads all of baseball in home runs. Sure, his batting average is below what it should be, but that's the trend that baseball seems to be going in. Is he in the discussion for AL MVP? Of course he is. Is he the frontrunner? Not quite sure of that yet. The only guy who might have a say in that is some guy named Aaron Judge. He's the AL and MLB leading hitter.

All in all, its still a fantastic season for Cal Raleigh, and it's not even close to being done yet.

2025 Florida College Football

In the state of Florida, College Football is almost as much a way of life as the NFL is. And why not. There are 18 totally college football programs in the state, ten of which are D1 schools. Of all those D1 programs here in the state, there's five that we will try and cover the most here on the show: USF, UCF, Florida, Florida State and Miami.

A grand total of sixty games will be played combined between the five schools. Yes there are crossovers this year, where some of the schools do play each other this season. Quite a few of those games involve teams that are ranked, as of this writing, in the top 25 in the nation in the coaches polls. There's no doubt in anybody's mind tis going to lead to a lot of exciting football this season.

With that being said, here's how we see the records going down for the big five schools this season.

USF: 7-5
UCF: 5-7
Miami: 11-1
Florida: 8-4
Florida State: 6-6

So what co you think? How do you see things going down this season for the Florida schools in College Football in 2025?

New Name, Same Legacy

Since 1996, the Tampa Bay Lightning have played their home games at the same location. 401 Channelside Drive in Tampa is the address. The name has gone through a few changes over the years, but the building has remained the same. And it has seen three Stanley Cup titles come through the doors. What has been known as Amalie Arena will now be known as Benchmark International Arena.

Tampa Bay has been playing hockey at this building since it opened its doors in 1996. At first, it was known at the Ice Palace, which it stayed until 2002. Then, for the next ten years, it became the St. Pete Times Forum. For the two years following that, it was the Tampa Bay Times Forum. And finally, over the last ten years, it was known as Amalie Arena. Now Benchmark International takes over the naming rights of the arena.

There have been a lot of big events that have taken place in the building over the years. The UFC and WWE have held events in the building on a regular basis. College basketball and college hockey have held their championships in the arena in the past as well. College Hockey has held its frozen four in the building in 2012, 2016 and 2023. The Men's Final Four has taken place in the arena in 2008, 2015 and 2019. Of course, the NHL has had some big events take place in the Arena since it has been opened. It twice has held the NHL All Star Game, 1999 and 2018. There have also been five occasions in which the Stanley Cup has been competed for on its ice surface.

As it sits right now, Vinik Sports Group, who have been running the building, will continue to run the building as it is currently operating. And why not. It is still one of the world class sports and concert venues across North America. The new naming rights to the arena, Benchmark International is a global M and A firm that provides business owners with creative, value-maximizing solutions for growing and exiting their businesses. Benchmark International has handled over $11 billion in transaction value across various industries from offices across the world.

Polar Bear Stands Alone

In the 64 year history of the New York Mets, there have been 1,238 players that have hit at least one home run for the team. Seventeen men have hit over 100 in the Blue and Orange. Four of those have hit more than 200 with the team. But as of tonight, there's a new name at the top of that list: Pete Alonso!

Pete's spent his entire big league career in New York, which is at 965 career games and counting. In game 965, against the Atlanta Braves at home, Alonso cracked career home run #253, a two run shot, to pass Daryl Strawberry for the Mets record. He's hit at least 30 home runs in every full big league season, save for the Covid shortened year of 2020. Pete needs three more this year for another 30 homer season.

Lets not forget that the Mets have had some pretty good home run hitters in their history. Dave Kingman, Carlos Beltran, Carlos Delgado, Howard Johnson, David Wright, Mike Piazza, and Daryl Strawberry, just to name a few. And Alonso has now topped them all.

Now if the team could get back on their winning ways, that would be great!

Tough Times In Queens

If you're a fan of the New York Mets at this moment, some level of concern has to begin to creep into your mind right now. Since the all star break, the Mets offense seems like they haven't been able to find their way. Hell, it seems like that has been the trend since the middle of June.

The question is, is it time to hit the panic button on the Blue and Orange yet?

Yes, and No.

Yes in that they have, in fact, hit a slide. The team is 18-27 over their last 45 games. Sure, at times the offense, and team as a whole, has had their moments. There was that seven game winning streak right after the all star break. But since then, the team has lost nine of ten. Lindor has quieted down as of late, and the bottom of the order isn't producing the way it was a couple of months ago.

Besides the hitting, its become clear that starting pitching isn't what it used to be at the beginning of the year. The Mets have gone 46 starts without having their starters go six innings on back to back days. That's going to be a big problem the later we get into the season, for what it's going to be doing to the pen. Sure the pen was bolstered at the trade deadline. But what good is it going to do if the team is getting overworked because of the inability of the starters to go deep into games.

I know it hasn't looked good the last couple of weeks for the team, but there is still some good news. As of this writing, the team is still ten games over .500. They are still within striking distance of the Phillies for first place, just three and a half games back. They are still three and a half games up on the Reds for the final wild card spot,  and three and a half back of the Cubs for that top wild card spot (which would mean hosting the wild card series). Alonso is still delivering. Soto is heating up a little bit.

There is still hope and optimism around this team. But there is doubt that's starting to creep into the back of the minds for Mets fans.

Wrestling Legend Passes

The landscape of professional wrestling would be very different today if it wasn't for the megastar that was Hulk Hogan. he changed the way the mainstream viewed the industry of pro wrestling. He became that first big mega star that the industry needed when they began becoming more of a public view. A lot of what the wrestling industry has become today can be traced back to Hulk Hogan and Hulkamania running wild in the mid to late 80s. The world lost the superstar earlier this week, passing away at his home in Florida at the age of 71.

When the name Hulk Hogan gets brought up in conversation, it gets looked at from two different viewpoints. The character, and the man behind the character.

The man behind the gimmick, Terry Bollea, was very different than what we saw on TV and in the media. That aspect of the person, we won't dive into here. There's been plenty talked about the person that I really don't fell like getting into here. No what will be talked about here and now was the character of Hulk Hogan.

What the Hulkster did with Hulk-a-Mania runnimg wild in the late 80s and beyond changed the world of professional wrestling and brought it full force into the mainstream. It helped usher in a new era and viewpoint on the wrestling world. It almost cannot be measured.

Sure, there were people in the wrestling industry who had a leg up of sorts on Hulk. Guys like Ric Flair, Dusty Rhodes, Randy Savage, Ricky Steamboat could out wrestle, out talk, and have maybe a little more showmanship than Hogan. But Hulk had the right mix of all of it and he came in at the right time. He was the driving force behind Wrestlemania. he helped power the Monday Night Wars when he was in WCW. When Hulk was really at the top of his game at the turn of the decade going from the 80s to the 90s, it was a huge time for the wrestling industry and Hulk was the right guy for it at the right place at the right time.

Not only did he make wrestling seem like kind of a cool thing to do at that time, he laid the groundwork for not only wrestling as it is today, but for what wrestlers could be able to do outside of wrestling. You look at what guys like the Rock, Batista, and John Cena have been able to do transitioning from wrestling to a big deal in Hollywood. Hulk was the first one to do that. He became the first wrestler of note to really be doing movies, TV shows and even TV commercials. Other stars of the industry soon followed that path. If it wasn't for Hulk taking that first step, we wouldn't have a lot of what we have in the industry now in 2025.

So thank you Hulk Hogan for everything you did for the wrestling industry. HULKAMANIA WILL LIVE FOREVER!

Drop That Puck

Its getting close. Start marking your calendars folks. The 2025-26 NHL Schedule is here! October through April, an 82 game stretch to see who will have a shot to play for hockey's ultimate prize.

Don't worry, we'll have the full schedules listed for the teams we cover here, but we will get to that in a moment. First, lets take a look at some of the other games of note for the 2025-26 NHL season!

October 7th Blackhawks @ Panthers 5PM: First game of the year and Panthers raise their Cup Banner
October 21st Panthers @ Bruins: Brad Marchand first game back in Boston
November 14th and 16th Penguins vs Predators: Global Series Games in Sweden
November 22nd Oilers @ Panthers: Finals rematch
January 19th Jets @ Blackhawks: Jonathan Towes returns to Chicago
January 23rd Golden Knights @ Maple Leafs: Mitch Marner returns to Toronto

That's just some of the great action we can expect to see this season. Now lets get right into it. Here's the full 82 game schedules for the teams we cover here: the Tampa Bay Lightning, New York Islanders and New York Rangers

OCTOBER:
Oct 9 vs Ottawa 7:00 PM
Oct 11 vs New Jersey 7:00 PM
Oct 13 @ Boston 1:00 PM
Oct 14 @ Washington 7:00 PM
Oct 17 @ Detroit 7:00 pm
Oct 18 @ Columbus 7:00 PM
Oct 23 vs Chicago 7:00 PM
Oct 25 vs Anaheim 5:00 PM
/Oct 26 vs Vegas 5:00 PM
Oct 28 @ Nashville 7:45 PM
Oct 30 vs Dallas 7:00 PM

NOVEMBER:
Nov 2 @ Utah 3:30 PM
Nov 4 @ Colorado 9:30 PM
Nov 6 @ Vegas 10:00 PM
Nov 8 vs Washington 7:00 PM
Nov 12 vs Rangers 7:00 PM
Nov 15 @ Florida 6:00 PM
Nov 16 vs Vancouver 5:00 PM
Nov 18 vs New Jersey 7:00 PM
Nov 20 vs Edmonton 7:00 PM
Nov 22 @ Washington 7:00 PM
Nov 24 vs Philadelphia 7:00 PM
Nov 26 vs Calgary 7:00 PM
Nov 28 @ Detroit 1:00 PM
Nov 29 @ Rangers 2:00 PM

DECEMBER:
Dec 2 @ Islanders 7:00 PM
Dec 4 vs Pittsburgh 7:00 PM
Dec 6 vs Islanders 7:00 PM
Dec 8 @ Toronto  7:30 PM
Dec 9 @ Montreal 7:00 PM 
Dec 11 @ New Jersey 7:00 PM
Dec 13 @ Islanders 3:30 PM
Dec 15 vs Florida 7:00 PM
Dec 18 vs Los Angeles 7:00 PM
Dec 20 vs Carolina 7:00 PM
Dec 22 vs St. Louis 7:00 PM
Dec 27 @ Florida 7:00 PM
Dec 28 vs Montreal 5:00 PM
Dec 31 @ Anaheim 4:00 PM

JANUARY:
Jan 1 @ Los Angeles 10:30 PM
Jan 3 @ San Jose 4:00 PM
Jan 6 vs Colorado 7:00 PM
Jan 10 @ Philadelphia 7:00 PM
Jan 12 @ Philadelphia 7:00 PM
Jan 13 @ Pittsburgh 7:00 PM
Jan 16 @ St. Louis 8:00 PM
Jan 18 @ Dallas 2:00 PM
Jan 20 vs San Jose 7:00 PM
Jan 23 @ Chicago 7:00 PM
Jan 24 @ Columbus 7:00 PM
Jan 26 vs Utah 7:00PM
Jan 29 vs Winnipeg 7:00 PM

FEBRUARY:
Feb 1 vs Boston* TBD (Stadium Series)
Feb 3 vs Buffalo 7:00 PM
Feb 5 vs Florida 7:00 PM
Feb 25 vs Toronto 7:30 PM
Feb 26 @ Carolina 7:00 PM
Feb 28 vs Buffalo 7:00 PM

MARCH:
Mar 3 @ Minnesota 9:30 PM
Mar 5 @ Winnipeg 8:00 PM
Mar 7 @ Toronto 7:00 PM
Mar 8 @ Buffalo 6:00 PM
Mar 10 vs Columbus 7:00 PM
Mar 12 vs Detroit 7:00 PM
Mar 14 vs Carolina 7:00 PM
Mar 17 @ Seattle 10:00 PM
Mar 19 @ Vancouver 10:00 PM
Mar 21 @ Edmonton 10:00 PM
Mar 22 @ Calgary 8:00PM
Mar 24 vs Minnesota 7:30 PM
Mar 26 vs Seattle 7:00 PM
Mar 28 vs Ottawa 1:00 PM
Mar 29 vs Nashville 5:00 PM 
Mar 31 vs Montreal 7:00 PM

APRIL:
Apr 2 vs Pittsburgh 7:00 PM
Apr 4 vs Boston 5:00 PM 
Apr 6 @ Buffalo 7:00 PM
Apr 7 @ Ottawa 7:00 PM
Apr 9 @ Montreal 7:00 PM
Apr 11 @ Boston 12:30 PM
Apr 13 vs Detroit 7:00 PM
Apr 15 vs Rangers 7:00 PM

OCTOBER:
Oct 7 vs Pittsburgh 8:00 PM
Oct 9 @ Buffalo 7:00 PM
Oct 11 @ Pittsburgh 7:00 PM
Oct 12 vs Washington 7:00 PM
Oct 14 vs Edmonton 7:00 PM
Oct 16 @ Toronto 7:00 PM
Oct 18 @ Montreal 7:00 PM
Oct 20 vs Minnesota 7:00 PM
Oct 23 vs San Jose 7:00 PM
Oct 26 @ Calgary 8:00 PM
Oct 28 @ Vancouver 10:00 PM
Oct 30 @ Edmonton 9:00 PM

NOVEMBER:
Nov 1 @ Seattle 10:00 PM
Nov 4 vs Carolina 7:00 PM
Nov 7 @ Detroit 7:00 PM
Nov 8 vs Islanders 7:00 PM
Nov 10 vs Nashville 7:00 PM
Nov 12 @ Tampa Bay 7:00 PM
Nov 15 @ Columbus 7:00 PM
Nov 16 vs Detroit 7:00 PM
Nov 18 @ Vegas 10:00 PM
Nov 20 @ Colorado 9:00 PM
Nov 22 @ Utah 9:00 PM
Nov 24 vs St. Louis 7:00 PM
Nov 26 @ Carolina 7:00 PM
Nov 28 @ Boston 1:00 PM
Nov 29 vs Tampa Bay 2:00 PM

DECEMBER:
Dec 2 vs Dallas 7:00 PM
Dec 4 @ Ottawa 7:00 PM
Dec 6 vs Colorado 12:30 PM
Dec 7 vs Vegas 7:00 PM
Dec 10 @ Chicago 7:30 PM
Dec 13 vs Montreal 7:00 PM
Dec 15 vs Anaheim 7:00 PM
Dec 16 vs Vancouver 7:00 PM
Dec 18 @ St. Louis 8:00 PM
Dec 20 vs Philadelphia 12:30 PM
Dec 21 @ Nashville 7:00 PM
Dec 23 @ Washington 6:30 PM
Dec 27 @ Islanders 6:00 PM
Dec 29 @ Carolina 7:00 PM
Dec 31 @ Washington 12:30 PM

JANUARY:
Jan 2 vs Florida 8:00 PM (Winger Classic)
Jan 5 vs Utah 7:00 PM
Jan 8 vs Buffalo 7:00 PM
Jan 10 @ Boston 1:00 PM
Jan 12 vs Seattle 7:00 PM
Jan 14 vs Ottawa 7:30 PM
Jan 17 @ Philadelphia 1:00 PM
Jan 19 @ Anaheim 10:00 PM
Jan 20 @ Los Angeles 10:30 PM
Jan 23 @ San Jose 10:00 PM
Jan 26 vs Boston 7:00 PM
Jan 28 @ Islanders 7:30 PM
Jan 29 vs Islanders 7:00 PM
Jan 31 @ Pittsburgh 3:30 PM

FEBRUARY:
Feb 5 vs Carolina 7:00 PM
Feb 26 vs Philadelphia 8:00 PM
Feb 28 vs Pittsburgh 12:30 PM

MARCH:
Mar 2 vs Columbus 7:00 PM
Mar 5 vs Toronto 7:00 PM
Mar 7 @ New Jersey 3:00 PM
Mar 9 @ Philadelphia 7:00 PM
Mar 10 vs Calgary 7:00 PM
Mar 12 @ Winnipeg 8:00 PM
Mar 14 @ Minnesota 6:00 PM
Mar 16 vs Los Angeles 7:00 PM
Mar 18 vs New Jersey 7:00 PM
Mar 19 @ Columbus 7:00 PM
Mar 22 vs Winnipeg 12:00 PM
Mar 23 vs Ottawa 7:30 PM
Mar 25 @ Toronto 7:30 PM
Mar 27 vs Chicago 7:00 PM
Mar 29 vs Florida 1:00 PM
Mar 31 vs New Jersey 7:00 PM

APRIL:
Apr 2 vs Montreal 7:00 PM
Apr 4 vs Detroit 12:30 PM
Apr 5 vs Washington 7:00 PM
Apr 8 vs Buffalo 7:00 PM
Apr 11 @ Dallas 5:00 PM
Apr 13 @ Florida 7:00 PM
Apr 15 @ Tampa Bay 7:00 PM

OCTOBER:
Oct 9 @ Pittsburgh 7:00 PM
Oct 11 vs Washington 7:00 PM
Oct 13 vs Winnipeg 1:00 PM
Oct 16 vs Edmonton 7:00 PM
Oct 18 @ Ottawa 3:00 PM
Oct 21 vs San Jose 7:00 PM
Oct 23 vs Detroit 7:00 PM
Oct 25 @ Philadelphia 12:30 PM
Oct 28 @ Boston 7:15 PM
Oct 30 @ Carolina 7:00 PM
Oct 31 @ Washington 7:00 PM

NOVEMBER:
Nov 2 vs Columbus 5:00 PM
Nov 4 vs Boston 7:00 PM
Nov 7 vs Minnesota 7:00 PM
Nov 8 @ Rangers 7:00 PM
 Nov 10 @ New Jersey 7:00 PM
Nov 13 @ Vegas 10:00 PM
Nov 14 @ Utah 9:00 PM
Nov 16 @ Colorado 9:00 PM
Nov 18 @ Dallas 8:00 PM
Nov 20 @ Detroit 7:00 PM\
Nov 22 vs St. Louis 3:30 PM
Nov 23 vs Seattle 5:00 PM
Nov 26 vs Boston 7:00 PM
Nov 28 vs Philadelphia 4:00 PM
Nov 30 vs Washington 1:00 PM

DECEMBER:
Dec 2 vs Tampa Bay 7:00 PM
Dec 4 vs Colorado 7:00 PM
Dec 6 @ Tampa Bay 7:00 PM
Dec 7 @ Florida 5:00 PM
Dec 9 vs Vegas 7:00 PM
Dec 11 vs Anaheim 7:00 PM
Dec 13 vs Tampa Bay 3:30 PM
Dec 16 @ Detroit 7:00 PM
Dec 19 vs Vancouver 7:00 PM
Dec 20 @ Buffalo 5:00 PM
Dec 23 vs New Jersey 7:00 PM
Dec 27 vs Rangers 6:00 PM
Dec 28 @ Columbus 5:00 PM
Dec 30 @ Chicago 8:30 PM

JANUARY:
Jan 1 vs Utah 3:00 PM
Jan 3 vs Toronto 7:00 PM
Jan 6 vs New Jersey 7:00 PM
Jan 8 @ Nashville 8:00 PM
Jan 10 @ Minnesota 8:00 PM
Jan 13 @ Winnipeg 8:00 PM
Jan 15 @ Edmonton 9:00 PM
Jan 17 @ Calgary 3:00 PM
Jan 19 @ Vancouver 10:00 PM
Jan 21 @ Seattle 10:00 PM
Jan 24 vs Buffalo 1:00 PM
Jan 26 @ Philadelphia 7:00 PM
Jan 28 vs Rangers 7:30 PM
Jan 29 @ Rangers 7:00 PM
Jan 31 vs Nashville 7:00 PM

FEBRUARY:
Feb 2 @ Washington 7:00 PM
Feb 3 vs Pittsburgh 7:00 PM
Feb 5 @ New Jersey 7:00 PM
Feb 26 @ Montreal 7:00 PM
Feb 28 @ Columbus 6:00 PM

MARCH:
Mar 1 vs Florida 4:00 PM
Mar 4 @ Anaheim 10:00 PM
Mar 5 @ Los Angeles 9:30 PM
Mar 7 @ San Jose 10:00 PM
Mar 10 @ St. Louis 7:30 PM
Mar 13 vs Los Angeles 7:00 PM
Mar 14 vs Calgary 7:00 PM
Mar 17 @ Toronto 7:00 PM
Mar 19 @ Ottawa 7:00 PM
Mar 21 @ Montreal 7:00 PM
Mar 22 vs Columbus 7:00 PM
Mar 24 vs Chicago 7:00 PM
Mar 26 vs Dallas 7:00 PM
Mar 28 vs Florida 1:00 PM
Mar 30 vs Pittsburgh 7:00 PM
Mar 31 @ Buffalo 7:00 PM

APRIL:
Apr 3 vs Philadelphia 7:00 PM
Apr 4 @ Carolina 7:00 PM
Apr 9 vs Toronto 7:00 PM
Apr 11 vs Ottawa 1:00 PM
Apr 12 vs Montreal 6:00 PM
Apr 14 vs Carolina 7:00 PM