Last night though this suave new guy stepped in (prob because Guerin has pneumonia from one of those Gatorade waterboardings) and showed everyone how its done.
As much as I will always hate on Kevin Durant for bailing on OKC and taking the easy way out by jumping on the Warriors band wagon, I do have to give him credit for one thing. He. Balled. Out. Guy scored 30+ in every game and was an absolute monster the entire series. He wasn’t just along for the ride. He wasn’t Steph Curry’s little sidekick. He took over games, made big shots and basically made the Cavs quit.
Now, is it pretty fucking easy to be a lethal scorer when arguably the best player in the league is getting wide open looks because he’s on a super team? Yes, yes it is.
“Most observers gushed over the 33 points he scored, but Durant also finished with five blocks, three steals and 11 defensive rebounds. Only one other player since 1984, according to Basketball-Reference.com, has matched those numbers: Hall of Fame shoo-in Tim Duncan, who did it in Game 1 of the 2003 NBA Finals. No Hakeem, no Shaq. Just Duncan, one of the finest defensive players of his generation, and Durant.”
He has the speed to stay with LeBron but also the size to swat Kevin Love shots into the rafters. Not to mention he’s quick enough to close on jump shots from guys like Kyrie. Durant has a 7’5″ wingspan for christ’s sake! The Cavs didn’t really have an answer for the Durantula, which Jalen Rose called the worst nickname ever last night. To which Paul Pierce responded like a goddamn boss, “We can’t all be The Truth.”
Which is what makes it kind of sad because any quote from KD like this will always be followed by a “yea…but”
“Nobody comes in and cares about the game or loves the game as much as I do or works as hard as do,” Durant said. “You can talk about whatever happens on the outside, but inside those lines, I come to bring it every day. I work hard, I believe in myself, I believe in the game, I respect the game, I love the game, and I knew at some point in my life that it will come around for me. So I just tried to stay with those principles and keep grinding.”
So Nike can pump the fucking breaks with this commercial.
“Debate This.” Fuck outta here, Nike. I will debate this. Thoroughly. Because he joined a 73 win team. A team that he was up 3-1 on the previous season with a trip to the Finals on the line.
“Hey, thats not fair — KD earned the right to pick his team in free agency and play wherever he wants!”
All true and fair points. But that doesn’t change the fact that he’s on easy street. This team was on cruise control to a title all year. Durant, again arguably the best player in the league, missed 20 games and the Warriors still won 67 games. Holy hell they might have won 80 if Durant was healthy. Looking ahead to next season, Golden State is already the most heavily favored team to win a title EVER:
“They’re going to be the highest favorite we’ve ever had going into a season, any team in any sport,” Jeff Sherman, NBA oddsmaker at the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook, told ESPN.
So I give Durant credit for being a beast in this series, but it’s gonna be hard for me to ever get over him jumping ship to the team that beat him. Guy must fucking HATE Russell Westbrook.
PS – Durant’s mom and Curry’s mom just GET it. So ride or die. Can’t knock that one bit.
Business Insider – On Friday the IOC announced a number of new events that will be included in the upcoming 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.
Most notable among these new additions for basketball fans is the inclusion of 3-on-3 basketball for both men and women.
The 3-on-3 Olympic competition will follow current FIBA rules. Games will be played in the half court with a 12-second shot clock. Scoring goes by ones and twos over the course of one, 10-minute period.
The first team to reach 21, or whoever is leading at the end of the 10-minute period, wins.
Every four years, the Summer Olympics try to become a little bit more like the X Games. Which is strange because the Summer Olympics, love them or hate them, are a quadrennial colossus. I couldn’t turn on a television last August with out seeing a swimming pool. Meanwhile, the X Games exist to provide #content and programming hours for ESPN during the dog days. The X Games could be permanently canceled tomorrow and I wouldn’t know one person that even noticed, never mind cared about it.
But 3-on-3 basketball? If the Summer Olympics can have regular volleyball AND beach volleyball, why not 3-on-3 basketball in addition to regular basketball? If Michael Phelps can win eight gold medals in one summer, why can’t Kevin Durant go for two? And at least I already know the gist of the rules as opposed to BMX Freestyle Cycling, which was also added for 2020. I bet BMX Freestyle Cycling scoring makes figure skating scoring look like scoring the word CAT in Scrabble.
The other thing 3-on-3 basketball has going for it is that it is quick. Last night’s Red Sox game took more than four hours. You could play a 3-on-3 basketball best-of-15 gold medal final in that same time. With 10-minute games and 12-second shot clocks, a game of 3-on-3 basketball will be quicker than a game of Madden.
My only gripe is the lack of the obligatory “win by two” rule. Rematch city. Which is why the gold medal round has to be at least best-of-seven. That would still only take about an hour. And this has to be played outdoors in 90 degree heat, with a chain link fence two feet out of bounds. Otherwise, why not just make the three-point shooting contest an Olympic event?
USA Today – Red Sox pitcher David Price is not on good terms with the media in Boston.
Price plans to only speak to news reporters on days he pitches and no longer give personal interviews…
On Wednesday night, following Boston’s 8-0 loss to the Yankees, Price took [it] a step further, barking at the Boston Herald, “Write whatever the (expletive) you want. Just write it. Whatever the (expletive) you want.”
Then on his way out, he was reported to have yelled, “(Expletive) them! (Expletive) them all. All of (the media).”
An oldie but a goodie – blaming your problems in Boston on the media. I don’t think Price has a real argument here. I could name plenty of other athletes who had it/have it tougher in Boston than him. But do whatever works for you, man.
What this episode all but confirms is that David Price will be opting out of his contract after next season. There’s no way that this can go on for another five-and-a-half years. But as foolish as it is to blame your struggles on everyone else, blowing up on the media can definitely provide a spark. So go for it, David. If it gets you to pitch lights out for two months, I’m all for it. The Red Sox will win more games, and you’ll make more money in a year and a half. Everyone wins.
I won’t lie though. Part of me wants to see Price get drubbed tonight. It would suck to see the Sox lose more ground to the Yankees, but it might be worth it to get another all-time meltdown out of it.
Again, either the Red Sox win more games or we get another epic meltdown. Win-win!
My god, don’t drop your head indeed. If not for that tree and a little lateral quickness, this guy could have literally gotten smoked by a fridge door. They say there’s nothing more beautiful than to die doing what you love…opening the fridge.
Yahoo – In a sense, if Cleveland Cavaliers superstar LeBron James is frustrated by the 2017 NBA Finals, his search for how the Golden State Warriors became so darn indestructible should really begin within. Unable on his own to topple the late 2000s Boston Celtics — a contender forged by trades for Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen in the summer of 2007 — LeBron left the Cavs in 2010 to replicate a super-team blueprint alongside incumbent Dwyane Wade and fellow newcomer Chris Bosh on the Miami Heat…Though Durant says he did not consider James’ precedent, he readily admits, “He paved the way.”
LeBron must have thrown a fucking fit when he saw this quote from Kevin Durant. Recent quotes from LeBron have made it seem like he’s already resigned to his fate because the Warriors are just more talented. Oh you don’t like stacked teams beating up on you? Well you started the trend homie. Its actually pretty funny when you think about it. As much as I hate the trend of AAU buddies teaming up and building super teams, Durant’s right; LeBron set the precedent.
“You crossed the line first, sir. You squeezed them, you hammered them to the point of desperation. And in their desperation, they turned to a man they didn’t fully understand.”
After reading that story, this Alfred quote from the Dark Knight is the first thing that popped into my head. It’s dead on. Like when Batman took down most of the Gotham underworld he set a new precedent for criminals and they kicked it up another level by bringing in the bat shit crazy Joker. LeBron is basically Batman in this situation with the rest of the league being the Gotham mob bosses, which is a sentence I never thought I’d write.
“You spat in the faces of Gotham’s worse criminals. Didn’t you think there might be some casualties? Things were always going to get worse before they got better.”
The NBA is essentially a copy cat league. If you can’t beat em, join em.
Now Durant is basically saying, “Cry me a fucking river. It’s time for KD to get his shine.” I just really hope this doesn’t become a goddamn blueprint for future superstars. Get drafted, make your team title contenders every year without quite winning one, jump to the path of least resistance to win a ring or two, then come back to your original team to play the savior card. Because that, my friends, will get old reallll fast.
And, yes I realize I make far too many Batman references in my ramblings about sports. Deal with it. The Bat Man is the goat.
Star Tribune — Green Heinz ketchup? Fat-free Pringles? Colgate frozen lasagna? You don’t need to be an expert to know these products weren’t successful.
Which is why these creations, with dozens of others, feature in the new Museum of Failure, a wacky parade of rejected products from years gone by set up in the Swedish town of Helsingborg.
They should have just named this place the “Museum of Products Millenials will Revive.” Millennials are constantly catching heat for killing archaic department stores and uninspired chain restaurants, but where’s the credit for bringing back Crystal Pepsi, Surge and Zima?
The time feels just about right for green ketchup to make a comeback. I can imagine the conversations going on at Heinz right now:
Barbecue sauce is getting too much attention these days. We were late on the bacon craze with our bacon flavored ketchup. How can we steal back market share? LET’S BRING BACK GREEN KETCHUP!
Pepsi better hope this place doesn’t have a New Coke exhibit. A couple of #tbt posts of it on Instagram and Twitter would definitely lead to a Facebook group DEMANDING Coke give it another try. As long as the New Coke marketing campaign isn’t also on display…
The New Coke marketing campaign could be in the Museum of Failure or the Museum of Ads that Didn’t Age Well. Take your pick.
But it’s not just food!
Even President Donald Trump makes an appearance.
The “I’m Back And You’re Fired” board game from 2004 looks like Monopoly, but players use “T” branded pieces and the paper notes are adorned with Trump’s image.
“It’s a boring version of Monopoly. It’s simplified so stupid people can play it, but it’s also horribly boring,” West says.
I’ve seen the 2008 The Office Trivia Game at every Five Below for almost a decade. I’m shocked that this game never ended up there. It must really suck.
Nostalgia is big these days, so I don’t think this museum will be a failure. I just hope we get one in the states some day. I can’t wait to line up for tickets in a lobby decorated with AOL CDs.
CSN – When the Lakers landed the No. 2 pick in the NBA draft, it seemed like all but a formality that they would select UCLA’s Lonzo Ball. But with the draft just weeks away, Magic Johnson and the Lakers may be souring on Ball, according to The Huffington Post’s Jordan Schultz. And, you guessed it, it may be LaVar’s fault.
If the Lakers pass on Lonzo Ball, who Magic Johnson has all but professed his love for on TV, right AFTER Lonzo apparently passed on a $10 million shoe deal because of his loudmouth father then I think its time for LaVar Ball to officially pipe down.
Per source, the #Lakers would pass on Lonzo Ball if #nbadraft was today. Team isn’t convinced he’s a star and remains concerned about LaVar.
Pretty hard to sell shoes and be a household name in Phoenix or if you’re LUCKY, Philadelphia. In a matter of like 6 months LaVar may have hurt his own son’s draft value, killed his dream of playing for his hometown LA Lakers and made his son pass on a shoe deal for the sake of tentpoling his own Big Baller Brand. Welp, better hope Lonzo’s pretty fucking good because ain’t no Kardashians coming to Sacramento.
I do find it hard to believe that Magic Johnson is gonna pass on the guy though. By all reports Magic seemingly covets Lonzo. MJ is gonna pass on a flashy PG to draft some project big man? Don’t buy it. Magic would be the first fucking guy out in a Friday night poker game with the boys because no one believes a goddamn word he says. But you gotta love the fact its prob making Lavar sweat a bit.
If Lonzo doesn’t end up in LA that is a yuuuge hit for LaVar’s grand stage-dad plan for him. Andrew Wiggins was the No. 1 overall pick and got his own shoe deal and I have never seen a single person wearing them. You don’t hear a single word about him unless you’re watching SportsCenter at midnight. Meanwhile as a Laker, Nick Young, AKA Swaggy P, is an internet star and dating (formerly?) Iggy Azalea. All while being TERRIBLE at basketball.
Even in this day and age of social media, geography is a big deal. There’s a reason LeBron and co. built a super team in Miami and not in Utah.
As I said though, Magic is probably just trying to throw everyone off his scent because the Ball family in LA just makes too much sense to not happen. Not to mention, they are guaranteed to team up with the Kardashians and spawn some hit reality show like Ballin with the Kardashians or some shit.
Huffington Post – According to Hollywood stars, the hottest accessory on the market is a fanny pack. Yes, really. Practical and stylish, the coolness factor of the bag has risen over the past few years. Kendall Jenner and rapper A$AP Rocky love them, Leonardo DiCaprio sported one on a trip to Thailand, Sofia Richie wears hers hiking and Kourtney Kardashian has a few Chanel versions herself.
All I can say is, FINALLY. Fanny packs have been shunned for too long. Its just not right. The perfect summer accessory is BACK. Why ostracize a perfectly functional accessory? I’m telling you guys, style is cyclical. Look at snapback hats. I used to be able to buy those hats for $0.50 cents at Building 19 because they weren’t fitted so everyone thought they were poor people hats.
If its the middle of the summer, the last thing I wanna do is wear some thick ass khaki shorts or even worse jeans, just to make sure all my shit doesn’t fall out of my pockets. And don’t even tell me to wear lighter shorts or gym shorts with pockets. You should just throw all your stuff out now because those pockets might as well have holes in them.
Not exactly how I would rock mine, but A$AP knows whats up with the fanny pack.
Plus what if I wanna carry a pack of gum, some chapstick, my cellphone, my wallet, maybe my phone charger. Ya know…the more I write this, the more it seems like a way for men to get away with carrying a purse.
Welp, count me in. The male purse never really caught on as Jerry Seinfeld can attest. It’s European!
But this is the next best thing. We got white jeans for dudes now, we got male rompers, its 2017, lets get nuts. Get me a goddamn fanny pack.
PS – As usual, McConaughey was light years ahead of everyone. Rust Cohle was rocking the fanny pack all the way back in 2014.
“I’m not afraid of the fanny pack. I got so much gear in here that I don’t want in my pockets…You know what, how many times have you been around someone and they’re like, ‘Aw, man, I forgot so and so and I gotta go back to my car.'” Pretending to take something out of his hip pouch, he added: “I got mine right here.” via USA Magazine
“I’m not afraid of the fanny pack. I got so much gear in here that I don’t want in my pockets…You know what, how many times have you been around someone and they’re like, ‘Aw, man, I forgot so and so and I gotta go back to my car.'” Pretending to take something out of his hip pouch, he added: “I got mine right here.” 
The 300s 