Anything that was predicted or planned in 2020 went out the window, so why not let my 10-year-old predict what’s going to happen in sports in 2021? I also enlisted the help of two past Hustle and Pro guests, Tony Graham and Eddie Munjoma. Tony, Eddie, Jack, and I give our input on the NBA, the NFL postseason, the Tokyo Olympics, US Men’s Soccer, and even wacky boxing matchups we might see this year.
Enjoy this episode and other episodes of Hustle and Pro in our archives.
Show Notes
[01:10] Will the NBA make 72 games?
[02:12] Will the NFL have the big game as planned in February?
[04:50] Will McCarthey be the head coach?
[06:17] Looking forward to the Tokyo Olympics
[10:23] MLB Post-season Thoughts
[12:18] Boxing Matchups
[15:38] Soccer – USA Men and FC Dallas
Resources within this episode:
- Jack Walker: Twitch: sykosavge21
- Check out these guests past episodes: Tony Graham | Eddie Munjoma
- Kelly Walker: Bio | Instagram @kelly_walkertexas | Twitter: @kelly_walker_TX
Connect with Lifestyle Frisco:
Transcript: (machine-generated)
This is Hustle & Pro with Kelly Walker. Join Kelly as she talks sports with players, coaches, organizers, and entrepreneurs from Pee Wee League to pro. Now, here’s your host: Kelly Walker.
Welcome to this episode of Hustle & Pro. I’m your host, Kelly Walker. And I have a special guest hosting with me today. So normally we make some new year’s resolutions, but I thought it would be fun to make some new year’s predictions this time around. And some of our best predictors are some of our youngest sports fans. So, home from break, I’ve got my son, Jack Walker. Welcome, Jack. Hi, thanks for having me. Well, I’m excited to hear from you and hear your thoughts on what 2021 is going to look like for sports. All right. So we have a couple of categories and I’ve also in addition to asking you, Jack, to give me your opinion I’ve also asked a couple of our past Hustle & Pro guests that were in here in 2020, um, to give us some feedback. So we’ll pop their answers in also, all right. You ready to get started? Yes, it’s January 1st when we’re recording this. So we already know a couple things like the NBA has already tipped off and is well underway, and it looks a little different than last year’s crazy unexpected bubble year. So I’m wondering: overall, Jack, do you think the NBA will make it through their full 72-game season kind of as planned with this non-bubble scenario? Or do you think they’ll have any kind of stop-&-play?
I think that like, cause they got to the end of the season last year, but they were in a bubble and they’re not in a bubble this year. So I think that if someone gets a COVID case, they’re just going to sit them out for that game kind of like the NFL is doing. Um, and then I think they’re going to get through the season. What do you think about the Mavs though in 2021? Um, I think the Mavs are going to have a good season because they had a good season last year and Kristaps Porziņģis is about to come back. Um, it looks like they’re gonna have a good season.
Let’s talk about NFL and the Super Bowl. I asked Tony Graham. He is a Hustle & Pro guest from the summer. I asked him his opinion. Uh, Tony, do you think the Super Bowl will still happen as planned in early February?
You know, I still do. And the reason that I do is because there has been a lot of different teams that have had to cancel games and move games around because so many players have tested positive for COVID. Uh, they’re still following protocol as far as not having fans in the stands. And a lot of those, a lot of those, um, cities and towns, but for the fact that we’re in one week, uh, 13 or something like that now the NFL and they’re still continue to, uh, move along. Uh, I believe that they’re still gonna have the Super Bowl as scheduled. Um, I think if they were going to make any changes or push that out, they probably would have already made decisions league-wide as far as how they would continue the rest of the season. And for the fact that, um, you know, week after week, we still have football games going on, even if they do get pushed, um, you know, a week aside from, uh, you know, something related to COVID, uh, they’re still playing those games. And so, yeah, I believe that it will still go on as planned. Plus, there’s a lot of money involved when you’re talking about a Super Bowl and you know, all the other, um, vendors, the TV and all, everything that’s involved with that, uh, billion dollar business. Uh, I believe it will still go on as schedule.
So Jack, what about you? Do you see anything wacky or crazy happening that will affect the Super Bowl?
Um, it could definitely happen, but I feel like if your team makes the Super Bowl, you’ll be very careful, um, to like not get COVID and stuff. And then I think my prediction for the two teams that are going to be in the Super Bowl are the Green Bay Packers and the Kansas City Chiefs
Sounds good. That sounds like a good game. Who would be your, your pick to win?
I think that the Packers should win the Super Bowl.
You think we’d- you think that we’d get a new Super Bowl champion?
Yes. Not your Mahomes? Yes. I think that Aaron Rodgers and the Packers will win the Super Bowl this year.
Okay. Well, I noticed you didn’t mention the Dallas Cowboys, which I know we’re Dallas Cowboys fans, but I’m also proud of you for not saying that they’re going be in Super Bowl ’cause that would be a wacky, wacky prediction. But what about this? Do you think Mike McCarthy will be the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys at the end of this next season? Like 2021?
Yes. I think he will because Mike McCarthy is doing a good job, I feel, like. Because they were doing good before Dak (Prescott) got hurt. And then once Dak got hurt, everything fell apart with like all the new quarterbacks and stuff. So I think Mike McCarthy was just having a hard time because that’s difficult. Like if your main quarterback gets hurt and you have to put in like your third string or second string, it’s probably very difficult for the coach.
So what does Tony Graham think? Do you think Mike McCarthy will be the head coach of the Cowboys at the end of next season?
I do. Uh, I believe that, uh, he gets another chance at it. You know, the Cowboys have been decimated by injuries this year. Uh, I don’t particularly like a lot of his, uh, coaching decisions that he’s made, but, uh, I do believe that he gets another chance. Uh, you know, he’s a good coach. He’s proven, um, won a lot of, uh, games, a lot of playoff games and even the Super Bowl in Green Bay. And I do think that he brings a lot of that pedigree here to Dallas. Um, there’s only so much you can do as a head coach when, uh, basically I think the way Jerry Jones said it was about 80, 80 plus percent of their pay roll, um, is injured. So yes, he will definitely be back and he gets another shot.
All right, let’s talk about the Summer Olympics. So do you think the Summer Olympics will happen as planned for Tokyo, July 23rd start? That’s when they’re supposed to start. So they were supposed to start a year ago, July and it got pushed back. So this is Round 2. They’re going to try again. Um, so I want to know your thoughts on that. If they’re able to pull that off, it’s such a big sporting event and I also wondered what are you most looking forward to in the Olympics?
Um, so I think that they will do a good job of kind of like making it feel like it was last year, you know, um, like hopefully COVID goes away and stuff, um, for, uh, when it’s supposed to start up again. And I think that they should like, not go another four years. I think they should go another three years. So nobody loses track because some people like think, like, to know when the, um, Olympics is. They like have years in their head, like the World Cup and stuff.
So one of my personal predictions about the Summer Olympics is that there will be some major COVID case of an athlete that impacts the Olympics like a standout athlete or even a team from a country in a, um, major sport that like disqualifies them where they can’t compete or some unknown country swoops in and wins because some front runners, um, were quarantined or something like that. So I don’t know who. I have no idea. I’m just thinking that like, something will happen with that many people gathered in the same place and all these venues doing something. So that’s my, my Summer Olympics prediction. So what are you going to watch when the Olympics come on then?
Um, I think what I’m going to watch when the Olympics comes on is I’m going to watch a lot of soccer and I think I’m going to watch a lot of basketball. But one thing that I’m looking forward to this year is track & field. I’m very excited for that.
And swimming, one of my favorites. I think after all the Michael Phelps years of winning, um, I pay a lot of attention to swimming, too. Um, and gymnastics is one of my absolute favorites. I would watch every second of every, um, American on any event, if I could figure out the time zones and, and watch it. One of our guests from Hustle & Pro earlier this year was Eddie Munjoma. He’s one of our FC Dallas favorites. So I asked him the question about the Summer Olympics, and this is his answer. He says, “I think they will go on as planned. I’d be surprised if by then COVID, hasn’t at least died down a little bit. I was definitely looking forward to watching that. And I’m a big fan of track and obviously soccer on both men’s and women’s side. I’m hoping the men qualify because it will be nice to watch some former teammates and just many different young guys in general representing our country. So that’s what Eddie Munjoma thinks about Summer Olympics. Okay. So we’ve heard Jack’s and mine and Eddie Munjoma favorites. Tony Graham said his favorite by far was track & field, but I also asked him his opinion on the newly announced new sport for Summer Olympics this year, breakdancing.
You know, it seems like I did read that somewhere now. Um, that’s, uh, that’s, that’s funny. Um, I, I mean, I don’t even know how you, how you judge that. What you know, how, how that even it represents that. I think that that’s probably going to be more entertainment than anything. I can’t see myself with, uh, a bowl of popcorn waiting to see who, uh, who’s the best breakdancer, uh, country is. Um, to me that’s kind of comical. I like to leave it to, uh, uh, the sports that we all that we all know and love, uh, here in the United States.
Speaking of one of the sports we know and love in the US, let’s talk about baseball. Jack, what are your thoughts on what the MLB post-season might look like? And if we have kind of a repeat of seeing a neutral, neutral, um, the venue for playoffs?
Um, I think that they will probably find another place to do the World Series because I don’t know if there’s ever been a time in history where, of the MLB, where there’s been the same place, um, stadium, uh, like two years in a row. Um, but you know, in our time, anything can happen. So I don’t know.
Well, yeah. Think back though. Like say when the Yankees are going back-to-back World Series and teams that have had back-to-back years, I’m sure they’ve had back-to-back World Series pieces of the series in the same stadium, right? ‘Cause like, think about a normal series you’re going to go home away or one home, two away, whatever, whatever the, the back and forth is. But this year was different because everything was played at one neutral site. That was, that was unusual.
Yeah. I see what you mean there. I just, um, I think that, yeah, the, um, like the playoffs and everything could be held and, um, some of the playoffs could be held in Arlington, but I just don’t think that the actual World Series series is going to be held in Arlington.
Well, I guess my prediction and my, um, wish, I’ll put them together for the MLB, and say that because the Rangers are going to turn around and be so good this season, they’re just naturally going to host some playoff games deep into the end of the playoffs and maybe even some real World Series games hosted in Arlington because of them being the home team. Let’s shift gears and talk about something we’ve never talked about on Hustle & Pro before, boxing. We had an interesting boxing match up this year. And so Jack, I know you probably have an opinion. Um, what if celebrities started boxing each other or something wacky happened in 2020?
That would be funny if more celebrities, um, and like, uh, people who like don’t play their sport anymore, came to boxing. That’d be very funny. Um, and I think that the match-ups that were in 2020, and then our incoming incoming into 2021 are going to be some good match-ups because some of these people haven’t boxed in a while or never boxed before. So we haven’t really seen them. Like, who, who are you talking about? Like Floyd Mayweather. He, I don’t know this because I don’t watch a lot of boxing, but I don’t think he probably has boxed in like a big fight in a while.
Right. Who, do you know who he’s fighting or supposed to fight?
Um, I think he supposed to fight Logan Paul or Jake Paul. I don’t remember which one. And that brings me to something else. What if Logan Paul and Jake Paul fought?
Ooh, each other? So these are brothers, right? These are like YouTube, young-ish brothers who people like, you know, because of their YouTube stuff. So do they, like you say, what if they fought. They each box or maybe you’re going to be boxers right now, right? Do they like each other right now? Or are they like kind of not getting along right now?
They don’t usually get along that much because they don’t live together. They each have like their own people who they hang out with. So I don’t know if boxing brought them back together or brought them farther apart.
So in your opinion, if they fought each other, you said that’d be interesting. Do you think people would actually pay to watch that? Like would that draw some, some audience?
Yes. I think, um, it would draw like the teen audience, but not as much, uh, older people, like boxing usually does.
Do you think it would draw anybody who has $50 for pay-per-view fights?
Um, I think it would draw kids who have $50.
Maybe they would like put it on YouTube for a $5 donation or something. See what they could get from that, right? If they don’t fight each other. But isn’t there one of the brothers aren’t they rumored to be challenging, like an MMA guy to box though this coming year?
Yeah. I think that, uh, Jake Paul, but it could be Logan Paul, is going to fight, um, Conor McGregor, which Conor McGregor is very skilled. And I think that that would probably be a good matchup.
I do think that would draw a lot of people and I think it would be interesting leading up to it. Cause Conor McGregor is so spunky and little wacky and crazy. So I do think that would get a lot of pub and a lot of people would tune in and I wouldn’t, I don’t know. I mean, a doubt I would like buy it, but I’d be very, very curious to see how it plays out. Very cool. Yes. Okay. Now let’s talk about soccer. I can’t believe it took us this long into the podcast to actually talk about soccer coming up. And that’s two things, FC Dallas and World Cup. So, uh, I talked to Tony Graham about this question. That’s kind of his specialty. So he’s, um, an FC Dallas youth coach. And I wondered his opinion on what he saw coming up with the US men’s national team. And so here’s what Tony Graham had to say about that.
You know, I actually, I’m super excited about the US men’s national team. You know, they have, uh, for the first time, uh, really I believe in their history have more players on the first team squad that, uh, play in the Premier League, um, uh, in Europe than, than they’ve ever had before. And they are just gaining a tremendous amount of experience. So I’m super, super excited about the men’s national team. Um, there’s a lot of good players on that team and, uh, that do well even in the Premier League right now. So, uh, I think that they will do very, very well in the, uh, qualifiers. I think that, um, they’re gonna surprise a lot of people, um, uh, when it comes around for qualifying time in the World Cup. Uh, not only do I believe that there’ll be there, uh, I believe that, uh, they’re gonna make some noise. I really do. I like what they’re doing, uh, with the US men’s national team. And, uh, I’m pretty excited about it, but you know, they, they have a lot of players that are, or get some, um, some quality playing time, uh, over in Europe. And I think it’s going to bode well for them, for sure.
So when I talked to Eddie Munjoma about his predictions about world cup. Um, I am definitely in agreement with what he says and here’s what he says, “There was obvious disappointment with the US men’s national team not qualifying last time around. So there’s definitely going to be some anxiety for fans, but the recent camps have shown a lot of talent and young players that are eager for something to prove and are performing well in their respective teams. I have no doubt we’ll qualify for the next World Cup. I personally agree with Eddie. Jack, what do you think about World-Cup-qualifying coming up this summer?
Um, yeah, I kind of agree with Eddie Munjoma because I think it’s cool how the US men’s national team is bringing up all these young guys. I’m like, uh, Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie, Reggie Cannon, all these good young people. And I think that they’re going to qualify for the World Cup.
But Jack, I’m wondering about FC Dallas. So man, this isn’t even less, this isn’t really COVID related at all. But 2021 FC Dallas we’ve already seen in the last month, we have seen a ton of movement, right? Player movement. So do you have any hopes or predictions or guesses on what we’ll see or who we might not see next season for FC Dallas?
Um, yes. So I think Bryan Reynolds will get shipped away to have Ventas. And then I also am sad that like Reggie, Cobra, Rhetto are all gone. Um, but then again, um, I heard the other day that there might have been a rumor that Messi was coming to the MLS. And how fun would that be if Messi went to FC Dallas.
That’d be insane. Like incredibly insane. I mean, do you think that would happen this soon? Is that like a next season? No. Surely that’s a couple seasons away, right?
Yeah. Probably because like Messi, I feel like Messi would go out of the, like very like European leagues quicker than Ronaldo, because Messi is older. And usually when older, um, like professional players from like Europe, uh, when they get old, they usually come to like the MLS. But no, that’s kind of flip-flop now because a lot of the young homegrowns play in the MLS.
Yeah. It’s interesting. We’re definitely seeing a shift. So maybe that’s a good 2021 prediction for, for soccer is that this is kind of that tipping-point year where we’re sending more young guys there. And, um, instead of them leading the way and sending old guys here. Which is a good thing, it’s a good shift for, for us. I mean, it’s hard for fans like us when we see our young guys that we watched grow up here, move on, but that’s kind of the point, like they want to move on and they want to play the best soccer in the world that they can play. And so it’s exciting. Um, so yeah, I agree with your prediction about Bryan Reynolds being gone. He might even be gone before this even, uh, publishes because things are moving quick right now, but, um, I’m excited though. I have some hopes that we’ll see people like Paxton Pomykal back on the field and Tanner Tessmann back again that are going to make really big impacts in Jimmy, um, back for FC Dallas. So those are the things I’m most excited about, and I’m also excited to see what some of the new guys coming in. Um, uh, hope Pepi stays here another season and doesn’t get traded. Um, what else, Jack, on FC Dallas?
Um, yes. I really like all the young guys. Pepi. I like Ryan. I like Tanner Tessmann in my favorite involved is I feel like it would be Paxton Pomykal because he’s just so skilled and I’m ready for him to come back because he’s been hurt for so long.
That’s it. That’s our thoughts for what’s coming up in 2021 for sports. Um, overall I hope that everybody gets to have safe seasons and, um, get their, get their seasons in. However that may look, I know a lot of things get impacted when athletes don’t get to play. It’s more than just us watching sports. There’s a lot of people’s livelihoods that are wrapped up in, in, um, sports all around the world. And a lot of people’s happiness is wrapped up in sports all around the world, too. So here’s to a good sports year for 2021. Thanks for listening to this episode of Hustle & Pro. Subscribe on iTunes or wherever you listen to your podcasts. See you next time.