From playing in the NBA to overseas, and then transitioning into pro wrestling, Peter John Ramos will never stop trying to become the best version of himself. That’s what keeps him working out late into the evening at age 41. 

Today, he’s Beast Mode, a professional wrestler living out his passion, and his stories could fill a book. His size at 7’ 3 and athleticism also gives him a rare advantage, and he once taunted two opponents in a one-on-two by getting on his knees and motioning them to come forward before taking them down.

He’s a showman and an imposing figure in the ring. To give further context on his size, he recently took pictures with the 7′ 1 Great Khali, dwarfing him at the River City Wrestling Con, the top professional wrestling convention in Florida at the World Golf Village in St. Augustine on June 6 and 7. The pictures caused quite the reaction on social media.

Photo by Duke Bennett – Duke Loves Rasslin Podcast

Away from the squared circle, he’s a disciplined, humble man who keeps the main thing the main thing. He originally wanted to be a veterinarian before picking up a basketball at age 15 because he is an animal lover. 

His start with basketball started off a chance encounter when he was shopping with his mother and siblings. They were approached by a gentleman who was curious if he had been on the court. That man was friends with an owner of a Puerto Rican basketball team.  

Ramos’ father abandoned him as a young boy before he moved to New York. On top of that, growing up was  a challenge because some children teased Ramos for being taller than they were. He told Five Reasons Sports Network over a Zoom interview that he was about 6’ 9 at age 14.

Playing for Criollas Caguas in 2001 was the first time he was in front of big crowds. “That’s where I learned everything,” Ramos said in his interview in Spanish on the Time-Out Podcast in 2019. The veterans on the team showed him the ropes, and he also added, “The first year, I didn’t play much, but when it passed, I got the experience and exploded.”

He was drafted by the Washington Wizards in the second round (32) in 2004, and got time in six games that season. Things didn’t work out at that level because he was sent down to the D League and it saddened him, but he made the most out of it, earning an All-Star selection with the Roanoke Dazzle. When his time in the NBA  and the D League ended, he went back to the BSN league in Puerto Rico, playing for Criollos de Caguas, and after that had time in suiting up in Spain, China, South Korea, Philippines, Dominican Republic and Taiwan.

One of the signature achievements of his career was being on Puerto Rico’s Olympic team in Greece (2004). He also played eight minutes in the game when his country beat Team USA on Aug. 15 (92-73) in the first round of Group B. Carlos Arroyo’s 24 points led them in scoring, and keep in mind that was the first loss the United States had in the Olympics while using NBA players, and some of theirs included Tim Duncan, Allen Iverson and Dwyane Wade.

Ramos’ style as a baller was a bruiser, which is somewhat similar to his wrestling identity. Before he finished on the hardwood, the best part of his basketball journey happened in the Philippines, where he says has been his favorite place to play. 

He had been resting, coming off an 11-month season in China when the call came from his agent about a gig in the Philippines. He accepted, then a week later arrived and they situated him in a hotel before his apartment was ready. On top of that, he had access to a driver, a chef and an assistant. “They treated me like a king,” he told FRSN. 

On his first day, he was picked up for dinner with his new team. “We pulled up to this big hotel that looked like a castle,” Ramos said. “When I tell you it looked like a castle, man, it was crazy. I’ve never seen anything like it. The best hotel in Philippines.

“So when they open the door, I see Manny [Pacquiao], I see the manager, I see the coaches, and I froze.” 

Pacquiao, the eight-division boxing champion, who last fought at age 46 to a majority decision draw against Mario Barrios on July 19, 2025, is Ramos’ idol. 

The manager then called him over, and he approached nervously. He then started chatting with Pacquiao, who told Ramos he was a fan. “I think it’s the best experience I’ve had in my 23-year career,” Ramos said. 

Ramos has done a lot in his career and is naturally a self-motivated man. Still, he keeps a small circle of people who never let him get too high, or too low.

“Right now, I’ just enjoying the journey,” he said. “You know, just keep on getting better and better, and just trying to make my dreams come true.”

The 53-year championship drought is over. It took five games in the Finals and the New York Knicks won their last three road games of the year. Their pressure suffocated the Spurs in the fourth quarter and had Victor Wembanyama unwilling to take the big shot in key moments.

The Knicks put Dylan Harper on the line when ahead by three points with 8.5 seconds left to deny a 3-point attempt. He missed and had to foul OG Anunoby, who made one-of-two but it was enough to put them over the top. One of the other momentous moments late was Josh Hart missing the second free throw with the Knicks up three about 17 seconds earlier, but Mitchell Robinson bailed them out by recovering one of the biggest offensive rebounds in history, and then Anunoby ended up at the line, going one-of-two.

It didn’t matter that Karl-Anthony fouled out. Jalen Brunson powered the New York Knicks to their third title and first since 1973, with 45 points on 51.9 percent shooting. He earned the Finals MVP, yet he got loads of help from Hart, Anunoby plus Towns combining for 29 rebounds, and the squad getting as close as it gets to going on the hunt on defense.

The Knicks’ defining characteristic was their resiliency as they recovered against the Atlanta Hawks after going down 2-1, they also had a 22-point fourth-quarter comeback in Game 1 versus the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference Finals, had the greatest NBA Finals comeback in history (29 points) in Game 4 and another double-digit fourth-quarter comeback in Game 5.

Observations:

• The Knicks’ defense held the Spurs to 101.1 points per 100 possessions, good enough for the 12th percentile, per Cleaning the Glass. They had the faster help and defended well without fouling. The Knicks made the game ugliest for the Spurs in the second and fourth quarters.

• Dylan Harper came out, blasting off the bench, scoring from short and long range on the catch and dribble. He was the team‘s best player because the offense flowed best with him in charge, and his pressure was mostly effective, even forcing an eight-second violation on Jose Alvarado, picking him up full-court. His biggest mistake was committing one of the three 3-point shooting fouls against Brunson in the second half. Stephon Castle and Devin Vassell had the other ones.

• De’Aaron Fox, the former Clutch Player of the Year, was nothing close to an All-Star and the moment was too big for him. Somehow, coach Mitch Johnson played him five more minutes than Harper. One of Fox’s worst mistakes included a turnover in transition trying to find Keldon Johnson and getting called for a flagrant one for shoving Hart in the back on the break, which ended up being a three-point play. Fox shot 20 percent for the game, mostly misfiring treys. The only one who shot worse than him was Castle (10 percent), who didn’t score until late in the game on a putback.

• Wembanyama did not play like a big-time player. He shot 36.8 percent and a missed a huge free two with under two minutes left. His only imposing sequence was sin the third quarter, scoring thrice in the lane.

Josh Hart was so close to becoming public enemy number one in New York after blowing an open layup on the break to the horror of home fans, but De’Aaron Fox bailed him out with one of the sorriest plays in NBA Finals history: rushing for a layup when OG Anunoby, of all people, was on his back hip, and all he needed to do was hold onto the ball. Then Anunoby tipped-in the dagger on the next possession.

For goodness sake, the Spurs were up a point. The basketball gods recoiled in disgust.

It was easily so much worse than J.R. Smith forgetting time and score at the end of Game 1 of the 2018 Finals. The Cleveland Cavaliers still had overtime to play. The Spurs had a pistol in New York’s mouth and then fired on themselves with Fox pulling the trigger.

How will Fox sleep at night? He’s so lucky there’s a players’ union that ensures he’ll get on the jet. On top of that, coaches across the world will educate their players with that nightmarish tape in the film room. 

They had been up 29 points, and now the Knicks’ win surpasses the Boston Celtics’ epic comeback over the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 4 of the 2008 Finals as the greatest in the NBA’s championship round.

The Spurs are going back to San Antonio down 3-1. The only team that’s come back from such depths in the Finals were the 2016 Cavaliers, but they had all-timer in LeBron James. Maybe Victor Wembanyama will finish with a special career, but he is not prime James, so good luck, San Antonio.

Wemby choked at the line worse than Manu Ginóbili and Kawhi Leonard in Game 6 at the Miami Heat’s house 13 years ago. He also shot 22.2 percent in the fourth quarter in the biggest game of his life, scoring eight of his team’s 30 second-half points.

Mitch Johnson got out-coached, and was unable to direct any solid instruction in the second half when his players were settling for jumpers. He stood there like the witnesses to Jesus’ whipping while the Spurs folded, and he subbed out Dylan Harper when he should have played all of the fourth quarter.

Four games have been decided by an average of four points. The reason they aren’t holding the 3-1 lead is because the Knicks are mentally stronger.

The New York Knicks are living their dreams up 2-0 in the Finals while the San Antonio Spurs are suffering through a nightmare. It’s been a fun series with Game 2 being the best playoff outing since the Western Conference Finals opener, and now the championship round has shifted to New York.

One could point to Victor Wembanyama turning the ball over by throwing it to Stephon Castle’s back, or coach Mitch Johnson not calling a timeout before that mistake late in Game 2, considering how shaky the team looked, or how Julian Champagnie has been San Antonio’s only deep threat. Yet the Knicks have gotten contributions from everyone and are ahead because they’ve made Wembanyama look human. Being the more macho team has made it difficult for him to get loose consistently on the inside, making him do the extra work to set up on the perimeter.

New York’s Game 2 win was like a body shot that tests the will of its victim. There will be no hiding how badly the Spurs want to keep going the moment they find themselves in a 15-point hole or give up a momentous run in the third quarter. 

Wembanyama had a huge third quarter in Game 2, scoring a dozen points on 62.5 percent shooting, but needs to put that type of pressure on New York every minute. He also can’t allow Karl-Anthony Towns to outplay him, especially in key moments. He’ll need to track KAT closer at the arc, and shoot better outside of the lane since he’s missed too many open 3-pointers. The only spot he’s shooting decently is at the rim, but he’s not strong enough to get there every time.

The reserves, Luka Kornet and Carter Bryant, have struggled and this means Wemby may have to play extra minutes than the 39.1 he’s averaging in the series. Logging that many is never easy, but many of the greats have done it when there was no other choice. Think back to Michael Jordan averaging 45 minutes in two playoff rounds, LeBron James doing the same seven times or how Wilt Chamberlain did that in 27 of 29 series. The best ones make sure they go down emptying the clip. 

Of course, De’Aaron Fox has to start playing like an All-Star again, too. He was nice in the fourth quarter of Game 2, but more of it is necessary so Wembanyama takes open jumpers or scores off easy rolls. 

Both games have been decided by 11 combined points. Unless the levy breaks because of mental resignation, the Spurs can still win in New York if they get nastier in the trenches and score more than 12 fastbreak points. 

Keep in mind that the Spurs are the third team to be in this position after losing the first two Finals games at home. The previous teams failed.

It’s never a good day when a reporter has his credentials snatched for doing his job. Scott Agness, the independent reporter who created his Substack newsletter Fieldhouse Files, says the Indiana Pacers (in 2024) and the Fever recently took his.

He reported on Caitlin Clark’s absence that it was “part of a strategic management plan for the season,” and stood by it when challenged by the Fever’s PR department. Their position is that he spread misinformation, when his reporting is consistent with Clark’s handling.

Keep in mind that Agness has been on the scene, covering the Fever since 2013, way before they were the biggest attraction in the WNBA. He was also there when they were in the Finals in 2015.

The type of treatment Agness describes from the W is not a surprise. In my case, I’ve only ever found the league communications office helpful when asking about something that could help them (Asking for numbers on national TV games when the league started — my point was highlighting how growing a league takes a lot of years.) 

Two years ago, I emailed one of the two directors for WNBA Communications, Ron Howard, if the league was looking into Diana Taurasi’s dangerous late-game hit on Cheyenne Parker-Tyus at a critical moment in the game. His first response back was, “Are you a member of the media?”  when we had communicated in the past, and I had been on a conference call with him on it, and he refused to let me ask a question.

Perhaps they would have treated Agness with respect if ESPN or CBS were attached to his byline. Or maybe he should have been a shill, and then he’d still have his pass. As long as he remains out of the press room, the public suffers for it.

The WNBA Communications office did not respond to a request for comment, and Agness did not answer a request for an interview. 

Update: Five Reasons Sports was able to talk to Scott Agness after this was published. Check that out here.