標籤: embarrassed

ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith offered to gift Los Angeles Lakers All-Star Luka Doncic a mile after noting the veteran guard as one of the few NBA players worthy of winning this year’s MVP award. The Lakers extended their winning streak to eight with a 134-126 win against the Miami Heat. Doncic scored a season-high 60 points on Thursday, which could be the deciding factor for the veteran media personality’s list of Most Valuable Players this year.

Still, Smith was embarrassed to admit that Doncic was not among his favorites to win MVP, but that changed after Luka’s 60-point game, according to ESPN’s First Take.

“I’m ashamed that I didn’t bring Luka up for MVP consideration before this morning. That ends now,” Smith said. “It’s been fixed right now. Luka Doncic has been sensational. The Los Angeles Lakers have been incredibly impressive on an eight-game winning streak. He’s scored over 30 in each of those games. He’s scored 100 in the last two games.”

Given Doncic’s recent offensive performance, combining for 100 points in his last two contests, he is strengthening his case for MVP in the final hour of the regular season, as reported by Stephen A. Smith.

“Who deserves it more than Luka, given what he’s doing? He’s leading the league in scoring. The Los Angeles Lakers are winning as a top 3 seed in the Western Conference,” Smith said. They’re winning basketball games. He’s leading, and he has a guy in LeBron James, who is on the Mount Rushmore of basketball — still playing like an All-Star caliber player.

“And that has to be different because Luka is so great — he’s so unstoppable. At some point, you just have to announce it, and right now, we have to announce it right here on First Take that Luka Doncic — the guy that the Dallas Mavericks traded away for Anthony Davis, another player, Christie and a pick. The same Luka Doncic in a Los Angeles Lakers uniform is a top candidate for league MVP honors,” Smith concluded.

The Lakers have won 12 of their last 13 games.

Draymond Green’s opinion on Luka Doncic, LeBron James pairing

Warriors veteran Draymond Green weighed in on Luka Doncic, LeBron James and the Lakers’ chances of winning a championship this season. Given the Lakers’ recent surge, which has led them to the third-best record in the Western Conference (45-25), momentum is undoubtedly on their side heading into the playoffs.

For Green, the Lakers are led by Doncic and James good handsAs he mentioned on The Draymond Green Show.

“Luka is playing absolutely incredible,” Green said. “The irony is that the Lakers are playing absolutely incredible. The irony is that DeAndre Ayton is playing better; the irony is that Marcus Smart is playing better. Because that’s the magic of Luka Doncic. Luka makes everybody around him better at the top of their game. So, you ask yourself, how dangerous can they be in the playoffs?

“And part of me wants to say that’s not dangerous at all, but the other side of me knows better. You’ve got Luka Doncic and LeBron James on the court at the same time. You always have a chance against anybody.”

Draymond Green likely to be a real contender on the Lakers:

“You ask yourself how dangerous they can be during the playoffs, besides me I want to say not dangerous at all but the other side of me knows better. You put Luka Doncic and LeBron James on the court at the same time… pic.twitter.com/kYEsPPMj43

– NBA Courtside (@NBA__Courtside) 20 March 2026

Amidst the competitive Western Conference led by the defending champion Thunder, the Lakers are slowly joining the picture of championship contenders.

The St. Louis Cardinals showed with a new stadium deal that they care more about the fan experience at their games than the New York Yankees or Los Angeles Dodgers ever will.

Payroll and player salaries have spiraled out of control in MLB over the past six years. That is why there is speculation that there could be a lockout after the 2026 season. Still, when teams spend huge sums of money to build their rosters to win games, it’s the fans who really pay the price.

While salaries have increased drastically this decade, the price of tickets to see some of the most popular teams in baseball has also increased. Teams like the LA Dodgers ($177), NY Yankees ($105), Houston Astros ($133), Boston Red Sox ($132), and Chicago Cubs ($108) had the most expensive average ticket prices last season.

Still, one beloved franchise that often tries to avoid assessing value to its fans is the Cardinals. Last year, the average price to see a game at Busch Stadium was $88 – the 16th highest price in the league. With the franchise rebuilding, they clearly didn’t consider raising prices this year.

However, they have gone even further to make the fan experience more entertaining for fans during a difficult season.

Cardinals are offering $29 unlimited concession deal in 2026

This year, the Cardinals will offer a unique concession deal. For just $29, a fan can get unlimited Coke beverage products, unlimited hot dogs, unlimited peanuts, unlimited bratwursts, unlimited nachos, unlimited fries, unlimited chips, and unlimited other options. Of course, this doesn’t include the ticket price.

However, if you’re trying to bring a family to a game and keep everyone happy with some enjoyable food, it can get pretty pricey at an MLB ballpark. However, if you go to a Cardinals game this season you can load up a family of four for about $120. Additionally, there are several games this season where you can find seats in the $50 range.

While it won’t make the game on the field any better, the Cardinals are trying to do something to make ball games at Busch Stadium more enjoyable for families. It’s a deal that the LA Dodgers, NY Yankees and many other big-market clubs will never make as their goal is to make big money from tickets and concessions this summer.

Hopefully, if this is a hit, it will embarrass those clubs into trying something similar for their fans in future seasons.

After earning a journalism degree in 2017, Jason Burgos worked as a contributor to several sites, including MMA Sacca… More about Jason Burgos