Brittany Griner of the WNBA is in a tough situation, imprisoned in Russia for carrying a small amount of drugs in her luggage. As a professional athlete, shouldn’t she have been better informed about what is and is not allowable to bring with her while traveling into any country where she would be playing? What are the powers that be doing to secure her release? Is there a growing trend of sports figures thinking they are above the law? Some say the WNBA does not pay well and that she needed to go to Russia in the offseason to make more money to secure her future. This circles back to a discussion from a previous episode about how much money is enough? Or does it come down to the practice of sports organizations paying certain athletes a lot more than others while others don’t have funds for retirement? Don’t these organizations have a responsibility to give their players a pension?

Damian Lillard just signed an extension deal with the Portland Trailblazers for $62M/year for the next several years past his current contract. With sports franchises paying a few stars such high salaries, does this make it more difficult for them to afford to draw in other high-level players to round out their teams?

The Lakers front office is still undecided about the addition of Kyrie Irving. Will the looming possibility of an August 1st return of the mask mandate in Los Angeles make the choice for them?

Has Dave Roberts been making the logical choices in the lineup? Does relying too much on stat analytics fail to consider some of the intangible assets of individual players? They have a deep roster and have been lucky that there’s always another guy ready to go when there’s an injury, but can they keep it up? As Dodger Stadium gears up to host its first All-Star game in decades, concession and merchandise prices are at an all-time high. Will fans from other parts of the country suffer sticker shock over the cost of a Dodger Dog?

Email Fred and Art with questions and comments at sportsfred@aol.com.