🚫 Panthers 🚫

 As we take a quick break from our All-International Marlins breakdowns heading into the World Baseball Classic. To commence the new year, the Fish did trade 2 Starting Pitchers whom were Arbitration eligible ($)/Hurlers whom also came with plenty of Injury history. The UFC makes its Paramount debut in a little over a week's time. The Miami Hurricanes are playing for a College Football National Championship on Monday for the first time in 22 Years! I'm coming back myself from an amazing European trip with my Suomi brothers in the north!!

We'll get into all of it, but in the words of the great Peter Griffin, "You know what really grinds my gears"? What the back to back Defending Champion Florida Panthers did, or better yet, didn't have the balls to do yesterday. 

We're certainly living in (for lack of a better word) interesting times these days. Long gone are those traditions when a Champion from each Sport would visit the White House and present the President with a commemorative jersey and such. A certain sitting Presidente, with his divisiveness/lack of moral or class/plain out racist agenda from day one, ruined that for major Sports Leagues (at least it did in the NBA).

Now, it's not without reason to believe the vast majority of millionaire athletes will always lean to the Right politically for one simple motive called, TAXES. During the first quarter of 2025, the Defending World Series Champion Dodgers visited the White House (as we covered here), than in a form of acting obtuse decided to let the public know ICE was not allowed on the premises of Dodger Stadium. Don't let anybody mess with that pocketbook I suppose, but let's all take pictures and smile with the guy whom controls such raids of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The '25 Super Bowl Champion Philadelphia Eagles would then visit the White House under Trump in April, although many a star Player decided not to attend on behalf of the Football Team. No worries, as another group of Champs had already shown up pretty much in their entirety.

Vincent Viola, Owner of the Florida Panthers was nominated to be Secretary of the United States Army by Trump before he even entered Office in December of 2016. So it shouldn't come as a surprise that those same Panthers became the first Title Team to visit D.C during Trump's 2nd term which began in 2025. Fast-forward almost a year, quite a bit has gone on during year one (boy does it feel a lot longer) of the '25-'28 Presidential term. It didn't stop the group of Defending Champs, essentially in it's totality again, of puckering up to the Commander in Chief's orange ass once more.

The cherry on top for so much stupidity came when Trump couldn't hold back in bashing Canada yet again; "You denied Canada of the Stanley Cup for the 32nd straight year" he said as he was embracing the Team behind him. As is the case with pretty much every Club in the NHL by the way, the majority of the Panthers are Canadian. "We're doing much better than Canada, but that's ok, right?" said Trump.

But since we're talking so much doltishness, might as well shift over to spineless. Because even every prominent Canadian on the Panthers showed up to the White House yesterday. Not 1 Player from Canada (where Trump likes to mimic being the "51st State")! From the United States!! From anywhere!!! Had the balls to respectfully or even disrespectfully (based on whom we're dealing with) decline Viola & the Organization's invitation?! Not one!!!

Viola (of course being a very close friend to the President) & the Organization gifted Trump a golden hockey stick and a pair of Championship rings. "I speak on behalf of every Florida Panther fan all over the world, we're not going to stop, we're not going to stop" said Viola. Don't know if he meant trying to win or going to the White House or both (whatever). Either way, from this former Panthers fan, I'll say to you what you're Players should have told you. You're definitely not speaking on behalf of me.