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The Rush: John Wall seeks trade, COVID hits Saints and Ryan Braun retires

John Wall and the Houston Rockets reportedly agree to seek a trade for the veteran guard, the New Orleans Saints suffer a significant COVID outbreak and Ryan Braun retires after 14 seasons as a Milwaukee Brewer.

Video Transcript

RYAN BRAUN: To the fans, thank you for showing me and my family unconditional love and always making us feel like we truly belong to this community. Thank you for packing the ballpark night in and night out for 14 years. You might come into the ballpark every day of joy, and I cannot imagine a better playing experience than being a Brewer for life.

- We'll get to the Hebrew Hammer for retirement in a minute. But first, we got to talk COVID.

- Do we have to?

JARED QUAY: Yes, we have to, because the virus is still wreaking havoc in the sports world. The New Orleans Saints have reported eight positive COVID cases amongst coaches, a staffer, and one player.

- This is not good. This is not good.

JARED QUAY: It's not, but it could actually be worse. The entire Saints coaching staff is vaccinated. And the NFL says a vaccinated person can come back to work after testing negative and two consecutive days. The Saints star receiver Michael Thomas was added to the COVID list yesterday, which sucks. But he's already out with an ankle injury and wasn't expected to return until several weeks into the season anyways.

"The Rush" hopes everyone makes a speedy recovery. But damn, the Saints are really going through it. After they were displaced by Hurricane Ida, they're playing their home games in Florida and training in Texas-- two of the most dangerous COVID states in the nation. Maybe that's why John Wall wants to get the hell out of Houston.

- Wait, what?

JARED QUAY: The five-time NBA all-Star isn't part of the Rockets starting rotation, so he and management have agreed to look for a new team for Wall via a trade. Assuming Wall gets traded prior to the start of the season, the Rockets will have dumped James Harden, Russell Westbrook, and John Wall in a single year.

- Damn.

JARED QUAY: I know Denver's out because the Nuggets just threw Aaron Gordon $92 million in an extension. So, they broke. And if Wall's interested in the Bucks, he can give Ryan Braun a call for all the details on life in Milwaukee.

The Brewers home run King announced his retirement yesterday. He hasn't played this season after becoming a free agent. So after 14 years with the same team, now seemed as good of a time as any to hang 'em up. Braun was the 2011 NL MVP and had a great career, but it will always be tainted by his usage of banned substances, which he copped to.

I'll forgive Ryan though. I mean, he only admitted it because he got caught. But still, the dude has done so much great work for the community. He was a fun guest here on the rush. And I wonder if he ever nickname is homers Braun bombs?

I mean, it kind of rhymes and every superstar needs a catch phrase. Braun bombs and, you know, Jared jumpers 'cause I could shoot real well or Jared jump ropes. Who knows? I gotta get one, too.

But Ryan, if you want to come on "The Rush" and do it with me, you know, two days a week, maybe three days a week-- I don't want you to be better than me 'cause I want my job still. But you know, we can use you over here, man.