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NBA commissioner for a day? Musician has some hilarious ideas

What changes would you make if you were NBA commissioner?

That’s a question Vince Staples was asked in a recent appearance on Paul George’s ‘Podcast P’ ahead of the NBA All-Star Game.

The rapper and television star had a list of items ready if he were to fill in for current commissioner Adam Silver. Among them, get rid of conferences and the G League.

George and his co-hosts asked for more explanation on scrapping the Eastern and Western Conference format. Staples cited the Minnesota Timberwolves and the New Orleans Pelicans being in the latter as evidence that the structure needs reworking.

‘Minnesota’s not in the Western of anything. New Orleans being in the Western of anything is like crazy,’ he said. ‘Get a map. That’s the first thing I’m doing is getting a map.’

The rapper, who released ‘The Vince Staples Show’ on Netflix on Thursday, also suggested an analysis of where teams are located.

‘Get these teams out of these places nobody wanna go,’ he said. ‘Get (Oklahoma City Thunder) out of there and I like that team. But put them in Vegas. … I’m not mad at Indiana ’cause it’s a legacy team. It’s like Granny’s house. You don’t sell Granny’s house.’

‘Stop it,’ Staples said, suggesting the idea is a cash grab. ‘Thirsty, bro.’

‘Let them go home. Don’t make them play,’ he said of the No. 9 seed having a chance to make the playoffs. ‘Somebody’s gonna twist their ankle, make ’em mess up their golf game next Sunday. They already got it planned out. They know they’re not making it. What are we doing, bro?’

Vince Staples suggests the NBA should adopt WWE-like drama

Staples, who is a Los Angeles Clippers fan, said that the NBA should embrace some WWE tactics. He suggested Silver should intentionally start a feud with future Hall of Famer LeBron James and have him throw a chair during a game to increase fan engagement.

‘You know how much jerseys sales are gonna go up? Everybody gonna watch the games. ‘LeBron, I’ma address that (expletive) you did at the draft,” Staples suggested, given underwhelming fan response to the NBA adding a second night to the draft. ‘Now we all watching the second day of the draft.’

He furthers his case by imagining how the drama from the 1990s Chicago Bulls could have been heightened. The team won six championships with Michael Jordan creating moments like the Flu Game and plenty of controversy around Dennis Rodman.

‘What if in the middle of the Eastern Conference finals, they say, ‘Aw, man, Dennis Rodman is in the hospital. He has alcohol poisoning from a night in Vegas,” Staples pondered.

‘You’re like, ‘Aw, man, Dennis not here. It’s gonna be quiet.’ You don’t even affect the game. You ain’t gotta cheat or nothing. Then out of nowhere, that happened, you see Dennis Rodman run out the tunnel with the gown on. … He puts jersey and shorts on at the baseline, bro. He gets 15 boards. … That’s the Gown Game. Mitchell and Ness gowns for sale, $250.

‘NBA, I got ideas, call me.’

This post appeared first on USA TODAY
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Basketball Hall of Fame coach dies at 92

Basketball Hall of Fame coach Lefty Driesell died Saturday at the age of 92, his family told the Baltimore Sun.

Driesell won 786 games with Davidson (1960-1969), Maryland (1969-1986), James Madison (1988-1997) and Georgia State (1997-2003) and was inducted into basketball’s Hall of Fame in 2018.

Driesell spent 17 seasons at Maryland, leading the Terrapins to eight NCAA tournament appearances and the 1972 NIT championship. His 348 wins in College Park are second in program history behind Gary Williams, who led Maryland to a 2002 national championship.

Maryland hadn’t reached the NCAA tournament for 11 years before Driesell was hired, and he famously said his new program was the ‘UCLA of the East.’

Driesell is often credited with inventing the ‘Midnight Madness’ tradition in college basketball, with fans turning up to see the team’s first practice of the season.

‘Lefty Driesell was a transcendent figure in college basketball and the man who put Maryland basketball on the map,’ Maryland athletic director Damon Evans said in a statement on Saturday. ‘A Hall of Famer, Lefty was an innovator, a man who was ahead of his time from his coaching on the court to his marketing off the court. From starting Midnight Madness to nationally-televised games with sold out Cole Field House crowds, Lefty did it all.’

Driesell was forced out in 1986 after the death of Len Bias, the No. 2 overall draft pick that year who died after a cocaine-induced heart attack. He was reassigned to an administrative job at Maryland after his ousting but returned to coaching two years later at James Madison.

Maryland had seven first-round picks during Driesell’s tenure: Bias, Tom McMillen, Len Elmore, John Lucas, Brad Davis, Albert King and Buck Williams.

“His contributions to the game go way beyond wins and losses, and he won a lot,” former Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said when Driesell made the Hall of Fame. “It’s an honor he’s deserved for a long time.”

This post appeared first on USA TODAY
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This ESPN analyst doesn’t think Caitlin Clark is ‘great’

But not everyone’s a believer.

During Saturday’s ‘College GameDay’ show, ESPN’s Jay Williams said he is not convinced that the Iowa star is among the all-time greats.

‘I think the way she plays, the pizzazz, is, she’s probably the most prolific scorer the game of basketball has ever seen,’ Williams said, comparing her to Golden State Warriors champion Stephen Curry. ‘I am unwilling … to say that she is great yet.’

Williams, who won a national championship with Duke in 2001, said that winning a title is what ultimately puts a player in the ‘greatness’ category.

As examples of who he deems worthy of the descriptor, Williams mentioned Connecticut Huskies legends Diana Taurasi, who won three straight national championships and back-to-back national player of the year awards, and Breanna Stewart, who won four consecutive titles and the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player award in each appearance.

‘I’m not saying that she’s not at a high, high, high level,’ he said of Clark, ‘but for it to go to the states of immortality in my opinion, it has to culminate with your team winning a championship.’

Clark took the Hawkeyes to the national championship game last season. They lost to the LSU Tigers 102-85 in the highest-scoring women’s title game in history. Clark had 30 points in the bout.

This post appeared first on USA TODAY
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MLB spring training maps: Where every team is playing in FL, AZ

Major League Baseball’s 2024 spring training is underway with teams assembling in Florida and Arizona to prepare for the new season.

Fifteen teams play in the Grapefruit League (Florida) and the other 15 in the Cactus League (Arizona). Sites in Florida are scattered across the state while camps in Arizona are all in the Phoenix metropolitan area.

Here’s a look at where all 30 teams are playing in February in March:

Florida spring training map: MLB Grapefruit League

Atlanta Braves – North Port
Baltimore Orioles – Sarasota
Boston Red Sox – Fort Myers
Detroit Tigers – Lakeland
Houston Astros – West Palm Beach
Miami Marlins – Jupiter
Minnesota Twins – Fort Myers
New York Mets – Port St. Lucie
New York Yankees – Tampa
Philadelphia Phillies – Clearwater
Pittsburgh Pirates – Bradenton
St. Louis Cardinals – Jupiter
Tampa Bay Rays – Port Charlotte
Toronto Blue Jays – Dunedin
Washington Nationals – West Palm Beach

HOT STOVE UPDATES: MLB free agency: Ranking and tracking the top players available.

Arizona spring training map: MLB Cactus League

Arizona Diamondbacks – Scottsdale
Chicago Cubs – Mesa
Chicago White Sox – Glendale
Cincinnati Reds – Goodyear
Cleveland Guardians – Goodyear
Colorado Rockies – Scottsdale
Kansas City Royals – Surprise
Los Angeles Angels – Tempe
Los Angeles Dodgers – Glendale
Milwaukee Brewers – Phoenix
Oakland Athletics – Mesa
San Diego Padres – Peoria
San Francisco Giants – Scottsdale
Seattle Mariners – Peoria
Texas Rangers – Surprise

This post appeared first on USA TODAY
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EPL recap: Liverpool and Arsenal top the table after dominate performance

It has been an exciting day in the English Premier League as the top three teams on the table, Liverpool, Arsenal, and Manchester City, were in action with two dominating performances and one falling short.

Liverpool had a great game against Brentford, with Mohamed Salah back on the field after recovering from a hamstring injury he suffered at the Africa Cup of Nations. Salah came off the bench to replace Jota and provided an assist and a goal. Darwin Nunez, Alexis Mac Allister, and Cody Gakpo also scored a goal each, leading the Reds to a 4-1 victory.

Liverpool now sits at the top of the EPL table with 57 points.

Here is the other thrilling EPL action you may have missed from match week 25.

Arsenal’s huge away win

Arsenal cut the lead by two and now sit in the second spot on the English Premier League table with 55 points after a dominant showing against Burnley.

Martin Ødegaard kicked off Arsenal’s scoring campaign by netting a left-footed shot from outside the box, putting the Gunners on the board. Bukayo Saka continued the momentum by scoring twice, once in the first half and again at the beginning of the second half. Leandro Trossard added another goal to make it 4-0, and Kai Havertz sealed the deal with the fifth goal, helping Arsenal cruise past Burnley with a 5-0 victory.

The Gunners recorded their fifth straight win of 2024 and now sit at the second spot in the English Premier League table.

Manchester City draw with Chelsea

Raheem Sterling scored a goal in the 42nd minute, giving Chelsea an early lead in the match. However, Manchester City fought back and equalized in the 83rd minute through Rodri’s goal.

Despite both teams’ efforts, the match ended in a draw, leaving Manchester City in the third position in the EPL table with 53 points.

Aston Villa moved into the top four

Aston Villa edged past Fulham after Ollie Watkins scored twice to get the 2-1 victory on the road.

At the 23-minute mark, Watkins scored the first goal and got Villa ahead in the first half. Later, in the 56th minute, he doubled Villa’s lead with an assist from Youri Tielemans. Although Rodrigo Muniz attempted to give Fulham life with a late goal in the 64th minute, his efforts were not enough to turn the outcome around.

Aston Villa now sits in the fourth spot of the EPL table with 49 points.

Tottenham Hotspur’s loss to Wolverhampton Wanderers

The Wolverhampton Wanderers gave Ange Postecoglou’s Tottenham Hotspur’s a blow in a 2-1 loss on Saturday.

The Wolves have climbed up to the top 11 position on the EPL table with 35 points. They secured a victory with João Gomes scoring in the 42nd minute and again in the 63rd minute. This is their fourth win in the last six Premier League matches.

Tottenham is now in fifth place with 47 points after Aston Villa secured three points with a win over Fulham.

English Premier League Table 2023-24:

premierleague.com/tables

This post appeared first on USA TODAY
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Trump trials will make GOP frontrunner’s daytime campaign events a challenge, but ‘nothing will stop him’

Former President Trump will be on trial in New York City next month to defend himself against charges brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, taking the 2024 GOP frontrunner off of the campaign trail. 

But that won’t stop him. He says he’ll campaign at night.

‘I’ll do it in the evening,’ Trump said this week when asked how sitting in court to defend himself against charges brought by brought by Bragg related to alleged hush money payments made during the 2016 presidential campaign would affect his 2024 presidential campaign. 

Trump pleaded not guilty to all charges.

The former president, who will likely be the Republican Party’s presumptive nominee for the White House by the time the Bragg trial begins March 25, has been forced to tackle competing calendars for the last several months with presidential primaries and court dates in multiple jurisdictions.

So far this year, Trump dominated in the Iowa caucuses, left New Hampshire with a commanding victory, swept caucuses in Nevada and the U.S. Virgin Islands and is poised to win in South Carolina Feb. 24.

But Trump’s victories haven’t come just from crisscrossing the country stumping on the campaign trail. He’s spent days in court in New York for Bragg’s case, the civil fraud trial stemming from New York Attorney General Letitia James’ lawsuit against him and his businesses and E. Jean Carroll’s defamation trial. 

He’s also appeared in court in Washington D.C. for special counsel Jack Smith’s case related to the 2020 election and in Florida for Smith’s case related to classified documents.

‘President Trump has been attacked by the Democrats for eight years. He has stood strong through two sham impeachments, endless lies and now multiple baseless political witch hunts,’ Trump campaign spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt told Fox News Digital. ‘The Democrats want Donald Trump in a courtroom instead of on the campaign trail delivering his winning message to the American people, but nothing will stop him from doing that.’

The first trial on the 2024 calendar was supposed to be in Washington, D.C., March 4 after special counsel Jack Smith charged the former president with conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding and conspiracy against rights. 

Those charges stem from Smith’s investigation into whether Trump was involved in the Capitol riot Jan. 6, 2021, and any alleged interference in the 2020 election result.

Trump pleaded not guilty to all charges.

The trial was scheduled for March 4, the day before the March 5 Super Tuesday primary contests, when Alabama, Alaska, American Samoa, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia and Vermont vote to select a GOP nominee.

But Smith has asked the Supreme Court to rule on whether Trump can be prosecuted on charges relating to his efforts to overturn the 2020 election results. Trump has also appealed to the Supreme Court a lower court’s ruling on presidential immunity.

The trial is paused until the Supreme Court makes its decisions. It is now unclear when — and if — that trial could begin.

But that doesn’t make the month of March free for campaign events. New York Judge Juan Merchan this week rejected Trump’s request to dismiss the charges against him from Bragg’s investigation. Merchan set jury selection for March 25 and said the trial will last approximately six weeks.

Bragg alleged Trump ‘repeatedly and fraudulently falsified New York business records to conceal criminal conduct that hid damaging information from the voting public during the 2016 presidential election.’

Trump pleaded not guilty to all 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in the first degree in New York.

Jury selection in that case will begin just after the Louisiana primary and ahead of April 2, when Connecticut, Delaware, New York, Rhode Island and Wisconsin voters hit the polls to select a GOP nominee.

Smith also charged Trump after his investigation into the former president’s alleged improper retention of classified records from his presidency at his Mar-a-Lago home in Palm Beach, Florida.

Trump pleaded not guilty to all 37 felony charges from that probe. The charges include willful retention of national defense information, conspiracy to obstruct justice and false statements.

Trump was then charged with an additional three counts as part of a superseding indictment from Smith’s investigation, an additional count of willful retention of national defense information and two additional obstruction counts. Trump pleaded not guilty.

That trial was set to begin on May 20, 2024, ahead of the Kentucky primary on May 21, the Oregon primary on May 25 and New Jersey’s primary June 4.

But U.S. District Judge of the Southern District of Florida Aileen Cannon, who is presiding over the case, said that date may be delayed. A decision will be made March 1 during the next court date.

‘The Democrats want Donald Trump in a courtroom instead of on the campaign trail delivering his winning message to the American people, but nothing will stop him from doing that.’

— Trump spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt

Should Trump win the GOP nomination, he would spend July 15-18 at the Republican Convention in Milwaukee.

However, Fulton County, Georgia, District Attorney Fani Willis has proposed her trial begin just weeks later.

Willis charged Trump as part of her investigation into his alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election in the state. Trump was charged with one count of violation of the Georgia RICO Act, three counts of criminal solicitation, six counts of criminal conspiracy, one count of filing false documents and two counts of making false statements.

He pleaded not guilty to all counts.

Fulton County prosecutors have proposed that trial begin Aug. 5, 2024.

But Willis has been in court defending herself after revelations that she had a romantic relationship with prosecutor Nathan Wade, who she brought onto her team to help bring charges against Trump.

In an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital this week, Trump blasted the case as a ‘sham.’ 

‘There is no case here,’ Trump said during Willis’ testimony. ‘It is so badly tainted. There is no case here.’

Trump told Fox News Digital ‘the case will have to be dropped.’

‘There’s no way they can have a case,’ Trump said. ‘The whole thing was a scam to get money for the boyfriend.’

Commenting on all of the cases against him, Trump said, ‘It’s all corrupt stuff. It is all politics — using the law to try to stop a party that is substantially ahead, and a particular person that’s substantially ahead in every poll, including against Biden.

‘This is all meant to stop me.’

This post appeared first on FOX NEWS
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Biden appears to confuse NATO with Ukraine in calling for Congress members to pass funding bill

President Biden on Saturday appeared to mix up NATO with Ukraine when calling on House members to come back to Washington, D.C., to vote on a bill that would fund Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan. 

‘The idea that we’re going to walk away from Ukraine, the idea that we’re going to begin to let NATO split is totally against the interests of the United States of America, and it’s against our word we’ve given since all the way back to Eisenhower,’ Biden told reports in Delaware Saturday. ‘So it’s about time we make sure Congress come home and pass the legislation funding NATO.’ 

The Senate this week passed the bipartisan bill that would give $95.3 million in funding to the three allies for defense purposes, but the House of Representatives is on a two-week break and House Speaker Mike Johnson has said the House won’t ‘rush’ to pass it. 

The 81-year-old’s mental fitness has been under scrutiny since Special Counsel Robert Hur’s report on the president’s mishandling of classified documents last week said he had a ‘poor memory.’ 

‘We have also considered that, at trial, Mr. Biden would likely present himself to a jury, as he did during our interview of him, as a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory,’ Hur wrote in the report explaining that the president would not face any charges. 

The Republican National Committee’s rapid response X, formerly Twitter, account RNC Research seized on the gaffe posting a clip and writing, ‘Ukraine isn’t in NATO — neither are Israel and Taiwan.’ 

Biden, notorious for gaffes, also mixed up the presidents of Mexico and Egypt last week, and while speaking at the House Democratic Caucus Issues Conference confused ‘red state and blue state’ with ‘red state and green state’ while giving his remarks.

‘When I said — when I pushed these programs — I said I’m going to be the president of everybody we live in a red state or green state,’ Biden said.

Former President Trump, the Republican frontrunner, has also had his share of gaffes, most recently appearing to confuse opponent Nikki Haley for former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. 

This post appeared first on FOX NEWS
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WHO chief’s dire warning: Disease X outbreak ‘a matter of when, not if’

World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Ghebreyesus has issued a new warning about the likelihood of Disease X breaking out, telling global world leaders it is ‘a matter of when, not if’ a new pathogen and pandemic will strike.

Tedros, who goes by his first name, told attendees at the World Government Summit in Dubai earlier his week he gave a similar warning in 2018 that a pandemic was likely to hit, and he was proven right with the outbreak of the deadly coronavirus. 

Complaining that the world is still ill-prepared for a new pandemic, Tedros once again touted the urgent need for a global treaty to be agreed upon by May and dismissed suspicions of it being a WHO power grab as outlandish.

He called the treaty ‘mission critical for humanity.’

‘Today I stand before you in the aftermath of COVID-19 with millions of people dead, with social, economic and political shocks that reverberate to this day,’ Tedros said.

‘Although some progress has been made, like improvements in surveillance, the Pandemic Fund, building capacities in vaccine production … the world is not prepared for a pandemic.

‘The painful lessons we learned are in danger of being forgotten as attention turns to the many other crises confronting our world.’

Tedros said that if the world fails to learn those lessons, ‘we will pay dearly next time, and there will be a next time.

‘History teaches us that the next pandemic is a matter of when, not if,’ Tedros added. 

‘It may be caused by an influenza virus, or a new coronavirus or a new pathogen we don’t even know about yet — what we call Disease X.’

Disease X is a hypothetical ‘placeholder’ virus that has not yet formed, but scientists say it could be 20 times deadlier than COVID-19. About eight years ago, it was added to the WHO’s short list of pathogens for research that could cause a ‘serious international epidemic,’ according to a 2022 WHO press release.

‘As things stand, the world remains unprepared for the next Disease X, and the next pandemic,’ he said. 

Tedros said there has been a lot of attention on Disease X lately but insisted it’s not a new thing. 

‘We first used the term Disease X in 2018, the same time as I spoke here at this World Governments Summit, as a placeholder for a disease we don’t even know about yet, but for which we can nonetheless prepare.’

‘COVID-19 was a Disease X, a new pathogen causing a new disease. But there will be another Disease X, or a Disease Y or a Disease Z.’

In preparation for the next outbreak, he said the clock is ticking on nations to come together and sign an international agreement on pandemic preparedness, with just 15 weeks left on the timeline agreed upon in 2021. Tedros said the treaty, which the Biden administration has been involved in negotiating, is a set of commitments by countries to strengthen the world’s defense with a ‘one health’ approach.

It would involve cooperation in research and development, access to vaccines and other products and sharing of information, technology and biological samples.

He cited two reasons why a consensus has not been reached. The first is nations have some differences, but he was confident they would be worked through.

The second major barrier, he said, is the ‘litany of lies and conspiracy theories about the agreement.’

‘That it’s a power grab by the World Health Organization. That it will cede sovereignty to WHO. That it will give WHO power to impose lockdowns or vaccine mandates on countries. That it’s an ‘attack on freedom.’ That WHO will not allow people to travel, and that WHO wants to control people’s lives.

‘These are some of the lies that are being spread. If they weren’t so dangerous, these lies would be funny. But they put the health of the world’s people at risk. And that is no laughing matter.

‘These claims are utterly, completely, categorically false. … Anyone who says it will is either uninformed or lying.’

Critics, including Advancing American Freedom (AAF), argue the legally binding treaty would cede sovereignty to a global organization and that it amounts to a power grab. The AAF is a nonprofit advocacy group founded by former Vice President Mike Pence.

Tedros said there is a draft copy of the agreement on the WHO website and urged people to read it for themselves. 

In pitching the treaty, he absolved the WHO of imposing lockdowns and vaccine mandates during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

‘We cannot allow this historic agreement, this milestone in global health, to be sabotaged by those who spread lies, either deliberately or unknowingly.

‘Let me be clear: WHO did not impose anything on anyone during the COVID-19 pandemic. Not lockdowns, not mask mandates, not vaccine mandates.

‘We don’t have the power to do that, we don’t want it and we’re not trying to get it.’

The WHO faced strong criticism from around the world over its slow response to investigating China for the COVID outbreak. A WHO team investigating the origins of the coronavirus pandemic also downplayed the possibility that the virus leaked from a lab near Wuhan, China.  

This post appeared first on FOX NEWS
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Stocks

A Very Accurate Sentiment Reading That Is Flashing A RED Light For Bulls

While many analysts follow sentiment signals that involve feelings about market direction, I prefer one that follows the MONEY. I want to know what retail traders are doing with their money with respect to options. Extreme readings provide eerily accurate reversals in trend, which are obviously very important to any trader. I like to call the 5-day SMA of the equity-only put-call ratio ($CPCE) my “speed boat” sentiment indicator as it’s excellent at predicting SHORT-TERM reversals. I track the CPCE using the User-Defined Index (UDI) tool here at StockCharts.com. Over the past two years, there have been occasions (mostly during Q4 on Wednesdays) when hedge funds have bought a MASSIVE number of equity puts on many of the largest cap companies in the world, like Apple (AAPL), Microsoft (MSFT), Amazon.com (AMZN), Alphabet (GOOGL), NVIDIA (NVDA), Meta Platforms (META), Tesla (TSLA), etc. These equity puts need to be adjusted OUT of the ratio, because they do not reflect on the retail option trader. Here’s my adjusted 5-day SMA of the CPCE over the past couple years:

The CPCE measures the amount of bullishness (low CPCE readings) and bearishness (high CPCE readings) in the options world. Extended periods of bullishness and bearishness are marked in the chart with red arrows and green arrows, respectively, as the 5-day moving average of the CPCE moves toward one extreme or the other. Any time that we see the 5-day CPCE reach the .55-.57 range to the downside (or lower), we can look for a possible short-term market top. Note that subsequent market declines may be quite brief, and sometimes very mild. The takeaway here is to realize that low readings, like the one we have right now, provide us a warning that the RISK of a market decline has increased substantially. Managing risk is a top priority for successful traders.

This low potentially-bearish reading on the CPCE will very likely impact the timing of our entry into 10 equal-weighted stocks in each of our portfolios at EarningsBeats.com. We just completed the end of our latest quarter, where our flagship Model Portfolio gained 21.87%, easily outperforming the S&P 500’s gain of 10.08% over the same period. Since the inception of our Model Portfolio in 2018, its performance has more than doubled the S&P 500 as well, 182.59% vs. 86.03%. We’ll be “drafting” our Top 10 Stock Picks for our Model Portfolio, as well as our Aggressive and Income Portfolios, on Tuesday, February 20th, at 5:30pm ET. For more information and to register for this FREE event, simply CLICK HERE.

Happy trading!

Tom

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Stocks

There Remain A Lot Of Mixed Signals, But One Bullish Signal That We Cannot Ignore

The masses have been confounded by the strength of this current secular bull market. Too many keep betting against it and they’ve cost themselves a huge opportunity for profit as prices have soared. I’ve pointed out on many occasions that the biggest stock market gains have historically occurred in the one and two years following the bottom of a bear market and that’s certainly playing out again. In the previous 10 cyclical bear markets since 1950, the S&P 500 has averaged gaining 57.12%, with the largest gain being the two years following the 2020 pandemic low (+103.31%) and the smallest gain coming two years after the Persian Gulf war low (+36.49%).

Where are we now? Well, we’re less than 1 1/2 years from the October 2022 low and the S&P 500 is up 45% since that time. The NASDAQ 100 ($NDX) has gained nearly 70% over that same period. Gains from here will likely prove to be much more difficult and history bears this out. The gains we’ve had since the 2022 cyclical bear market bottom are unsustainable over the long-term. We still have plenty of room to the upside in our secular bull market channel, as you can see below:

The one signal that most analysts, technicians, and traders are overlooking is the most important one of all. The combination of price and volume trumps all other indicators, PERIOD. Yet nearly everyone wants to put their faith in secondary indicators and (gasp!) fundamental news. Just take 15 seconds and look at how secular bull markets develop. This channel does not lie. Everything here is factual. When we’re at or even just above the upper channel line, then we can have a discussion. At any other point, expect higher prices. This is very simple, basic perspective that no one wants to talk about. It’s sexier to talk about inflation, breadth, interest rates, go away in May (get ready bears, we’re only a couple months away from this one!), and the latest Hindenburg Omen signal, another breadth indicator that’s been wrong 75% of the time. But, hey, if we can scare the heck out of traders one more time and use it as awesome CLICK BAIT, then let’s do it.

Honestly, it’s no wonder why people are scared to death of the stock market. Around every corner is yet another expert indicating a HUGE problem that’s going to leave the stock market in ashes and all of us in total financial despair. What a great way to go through life! Now look at that chart above for 15 seconds again. Ok now turn off CNBC and keep looking at this chart. Your investing life just got a lot easier. You’re welcome.

Manipulation is BAAAACK!!!

One major reason why I turned bullish in June 2022 near the bottom of the bear market was the manipulation that I could see playing out. The QQQ (ETF that tracks the NASDAQ 100) saw tremendous distribution through the April/May period in 2022. There was selling at the opening bell in the form of gap downs, morning selling, and afternoon selling right into the close. It was crystal clear that a bear market gripped Wall Street. But it all started to change in June 2022, when rotation from value to growth started favoring an end to the slaughter. Also, very clearly, distribution began to flip to accumulation. Net gaps and morning weakness continued to dominate, but there was TREMENDOUS buying from 11am ET to the closing bell. We were still going lower, but it was because of opening gaps to the downside and panicked selling in the first 30-60 minutes. AD (accumulation/distribution) lines were moving higher to confirm what I was seeing in terms of afternoon accumulation.

Recently, I’m seeing similar manipulation with the small cap IWM (ETF that tracks the Russell 2000). Check out this chart:

The last 6 weeks have been eye-opening for small caps. They appear as though they’ve gone nowhere and they’ve certainly been an underperformer relative to the S&P 500. But the current continuation pattern, a possible cup with handle, is extremely bullish after an uptrend. I wouldn’t be surprised to see a bit of short-term weakness to form a handle, before a much larger move to the upside in small caps. And if we look under the hood of the IWM, it’s easy to see accumulation taking place as buyers are plentiful in the afternoons. One interesting stat is that the IWM has gained ground 14 of the last 15 days between the hours of 11am and 2pm. The intraday buying is real.

Looking Ahead

I am beginning to focus more and more on small- and mid-cap stocks and believe they’ll be leaders during the balance of 2024. Their role in our portfolios is likely to increase. We just completed our latest quarter’s portfolio performance with our flagship Model Portfolio gaining 21.27%, more than doubling the S&P 500’s return of 10.08%. That’s consistent with our long-term performance, where we’ve seen our Model Portfolio gain 182.59% since November 2018, while the S&P 500 has risen 86.03% – again, more than a doubling of the benchmark.

On Tuesday, February 20th, at 5:30pm ET, I’ll be hosting our Top 10 Stock Picks webinar, where I’ll unveil the 10 equal-weighted stocks to represent our Model Portfolio for the next 3 months, along with the 10 stocks in our other 2 portfolios, Aggressive and Income. I like to think of this event as our DRAFT, with EarningsBeats.com holding all Top 10 draft picks! There are a number of factors that go into stock selection, but a very important one is relative strength. We want leading stocks and look to their leadership roles to carry our portfolios past the benchmark S&P 500. CLICK HERE for more information and to register for this FREE event!

Happy trading!

Tom

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