Your Friday Morning Roundup

BOY WHAT A WEEK.

At first, previous optimism looked bleak as hell. It was not optimism at all. The Dodgers with a short-term deal and Giants with a long-term deal were coming into the picture. The Phillies were low-balling Bryce Harper and may have not even reached $300 million.

But at 2:50 PM on Thursday, February 28, the news broke from Scott Boras’ mouthpiece Jon Heyman. It was the Phillies. Just look at the MLB The Show cover. Most of us found out on Twitter or sports talk radio, unless you’re Gabe Kapler who found out from FANS SITTING BEHIND HIM.

13 years, $330 million. No opt-outs, a no-trade clause, he’s here pretty much for the rest of his career.

Scott Boras said there were other offers with higher AAVs from the Dodgers ($45 million), but it was on a short-term deal. Harper didn’t want a short-term deal.

So with that, the Phillies had a hell of an offseason with an unbelievable lineup. And it’s had an immediate impact on ticket sales. I’m probably getting tickets to a game later today.

With that, an emergency episode of Crossed Up is now available. And so are new Stupid Money shirts. Listen to the pod while you buy a shirt.

The Roundup:

There were other sports that happened last night. The Sixers played the Thunder, who they usually lose against. But without Paul George for Oklahoma City, Tobias Harris led the way with 32 points and Ben Simmons had another triple-double in a 108-104 win. It’s the team’s first ever win in OKC and the first win against the Thunder since 2008, their first year as the Thunder.

Up next is a Saturday night nationally televised home game against Golden State on ABC. Joel Embiid’s status is still unknown. Hopefully he plays.

As for the rest of the season, Kevin projects how it might look.