Tom’s Two Cents: Cup Champs, Game 7 & College Baseball Madness

Hey Bean’s Blog,

Welcome back to the 4th Edition of Tom’s Two Cents. Today we’re diving into the Panthers hoisting the Cup (again), preview of Game 7 of the NBA Finals, and updating you on the College World Series — and of course, climbing up on this week’s Soapbox to scream about crazy broadcast stats.

Panthers Win Back-to‑Back Stanley Cups

The Florida Panthers are officially dynasty-adjacent, hoisting the Cup again with a 5–1 demolition of Edmonton in Game 6. Sam Reinhart dropped four goals in that game — only the sixth player ever in NHL history to do so in a Final. Meanwhile, Sam Bennett snatched the Conn Smythe trophy with 15 postseason goals — just unreal..

The Panthers even brought the Cup to Alex Barkov’s neighborhood at 5 a.m. — waking up the block louder than my neighbor's lawnmower on a Saturday morning. They won this back-to-back in true Florida “dirtbag hockey” fashion — trash talk, grit, and killing penalties (they ran at 80% PK).

Well deserved to the P’s, but hopefully next year we can get some new faces in the final.

NBA Finals Game 7 Preview: Small Markets, Big Drama

Full transparency: I haven’t watched a ton of NBA this year. Between playoff hockey, Cardinals heartbreak, and convincing myself I can break 80 on the golf course, the NBA’s taken a bit of a backseat.

But you know what will get me locked in? A Game 7, baby. Especially one that features two small-market squads like the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Indiana Pacers. No Superteam. No coastal elite nonsense. Just two hungry, young teams going toe-to-toe for the Larry O'Brien.

The series has been a slugfest — back-and-forth battles, big scoring nights, and just enough trash talk to make it spicy. SGA is playing like a stone-cold killer, Haliburton is dishing dimes like me in a rec league, and there’s a real sense that either one of them could go off for 40+ and steal it.

I don’t know who’s winning it, but I do know this: small-market Game 7s are good for the soul.

CWS Update: LSU vs. Coastal Carolina in Championship Showdown

We’ve made it to the grand finale in Omaha: LSU vs. Coastal Carolina in a best-of-three showdown for the College World Series title, starting Saturday. It’s power vs. precision, SEC firepower vs. small-conference grit — and frankly, it’s the chaos we live for in June.

Coastal Carolina has been the surprise wagon of the tournament, rolling into the final undefeated and riding a ridiculous 26-game win streak. They made light work of Louisville in the semis, winning 11–3 behind a lockdown pitching staff and some relentless small-ball. Don’t let the “mid-major” label fool you — this team’s for real, and they’ve already hoisted a trophy once (2016). They’re not here for the vibes — they’re here to win.

LSU, meanwhile, had to survive a thriller to punch their ticket. They took down Arkansas 6–5 in the ninth inning thanks to Jared Jones delivering a clutch, go-ahead knock. It was vintage Tigers baseball — timely hitting and a bullpen just good enough to get it done. LSU is gunning for its eighth national championship, and they’ve got the horses to do it: Jones leads a potent lineup with 22 bombs, and the pitching duo of Kade Anderson and Anthony Eyanson has been nails all season.

And speaking of Arkansas — they didn’t make it to the final, but they gave us one of the most jaw-dropping performances of the tournament. Sophomore right-hander Gage Wood threw the first CWS no-hitter in 65 years, striking out 19 in a 3–0 win over Murray State. That’s video game stuff. If that kid’s not a first-rounder in the MLB Draft, cancel the whole thing.

So here we are. LSU vs. Coastal. Goliath vs. Goliath-in-a-different-sweater. I’d love to see this one go three games — this series has all the ingredients to be a classic.

Soapbox: Not Every Moment Needs a Stat

Here’s something that’s been driving me absolutely insane lately:

Not every single sports moment needs a stat.

I love numbers. I respect analytics. But the way ESPN and other networks are out here forcing stats into every single highlight is getting ridiculous. The other night I saw, “That’s the first time a left-handed pitcher from Nebraska has struck out three batters on a Tuesday day game.” Like… what are we doing?

Can’t a guy just hit a walk-off without us being told it’s “the first time someone with a Q in their last name has done that since 1987”?

Sports are beautiful because of the emotion. The moments. The chaos. The unpredictability. But somewhere along the line, the broadcast crews decided we needed a stat sandwich with every play. "Here's his average when hitting after chewing gum during a cloudy road game."

We don’t need it. Sometimes the eye test is enough. Sometimes a great catch is just a great catch — not a 3.7% probability snag with a spray chart overlay and a lecture on launch angle.

I’m not saying toss out all the data. Just… maybe give it a breather. Let the moment breathe, too.

As always, thanks for reading and we’ll see you next week!