Only person that I’m up against is me I’m hella humble, don’t mistake, that shit is weak Show my daughter if she fall, it’s cool, just get back on your feet I’m here to give you all these tools and then my life will be complete Show you what you dream is true and what you want in life and reach And now I gotta take a look at me and practice what I preach You are who you wanna be And now I gotta take a look at me and practice what I preach
Lute is an artist out of Charlotte that signed with J. Cole’s Dreamwork label back in 2015, which probably explains why I like this track so much. Humble, hard working, and motivational all wrapped up in some slick rhymes, check out Lute’s “Life” and the powerful visuals that only a year like 2020 could truly inspire.
I can’t believe it’s already/only been a year since Tom Brady officially announced he was leaving the Patriots after 20 seasons. Less than a week later Boston Mayor Marty Walsh officially shut down the entire city and so began the worst year of all of our lives. Coincidence? I think not. Since then so much has happened including the absolutely apocalyptic global pandemic, every professional sports league pausing and resuming games, we had perhaps the most virulent Presidential election of our lifetime, rioters stormed the Capitol, Zoom became more common than brushing your teeth, everybody is going on their 2nd straight birthday in quarantine, oh and Tom Brady won yet another Super Bowl except this time for a different team. That all happened in just the last 365 days.
I actually just finished the excellent Patriots book by Jeff Benedict, The Dynasty, and while it definitely does have a friendly slant towards the Kraft family, it still may just be the most complete historical retelling of the entire Tom Brady/Bill Belichick/Robert Kraft era in New England. Benedict’s book does a superb job navigating through all of the drama, hearsay, history, the highs and the lows of the past 20 years and it really is nothing short of amazing the levels of success this franchise reached.
“The New England Patriots of the Tom Brady era are in the pantheon of greatest sports dynasties. No team in the twenty-first century formed a deeper emotional connection with its fans–or aroused more passionate disdain from opposing fans–than the Patriots under Robert Kraft, Bill Belichick, and Tom Brady. Together they created a golden era of football that started in the year of the 9/11 terror attacks and continued for two decades. If the Patriots’ dynasty had behaved like its football predecessors in Green Bay, Pittsburgh, and San Francisco, the run in Foxborough would have ended much sooner, perhaps as early as 2010 or 2011. But Kraft’s biggest achievement as an owner was keeping Belichick and Brady together for so long. They needed each other to reach heights that had previously seemed unimaginable.”
I can’t believe the day has finally come. Tom Brady is leaving the New England Patriots. Despite days, months, and even years of preparing for this it still doesn’t feel real. I feel like Cameron in Ferris Bueller’s day off right now: catatonic.
We all knew this day was coming, but it still sucks to see the end of an era. I don’t fault Brady, especially if he did get a massive payday somewhere else and the Pats offered him peanuts. Can’t blame the guy for wanting to make market value after taking discounts his entire career. Especially if the Patriots and Belichick wanted him to sing for his supper just to lowball him again.
Then? Then Brady immediately proved Belichick and any remaining doubters wrong as he won his 7th Super Bowl only this time with an entirely new team. It only made it crystal clear that if the Patriots had put a better supporting cast around Brady that he could still be an elite, championship winning quarterback. So yes, I still have a lot of hard feelings about how it all ended, but everything ultimately runs its course and that’s what inevitably happened here. If you are one of the few fans out there who blames Brady for leaving then I highly recommend you read The Dynasty because that guy gave everything he had, which led to a legitimately heartbreaking final meeting with Robert Kraft.
Tom Brady may be living it up down in Tampa Bay, but now and forever, that’s my quarterback.
The longer the Patriots were on the market for a quarterback, for a second straight year, and as they continued to dawdle, the more this move felt like a possibility. Not exactly a home run move by Bill Belichick. More of an opposite-field single with no runners on base and two outs in the 8th, down by three.
First, let’s consider the upsides. This move comes on March 12. Last year, the Patriots didn’t sign Cam Newton until July 8. In addition to already having one season with the Patriots under his belt, this gives Newton four more months to prepare for the 2021 season than he had to prepare for the 2020 season. Additionally, with COVID-19 hopefully on its way out, maybe a more regular offseason will benefit Newton and his teammates as they prepare for the 2021 campaign. (Let’s also not forget that Newton had COVID himself during the season. Fewer in-seasons disruptions and health scares will help, too.) And among his teammates this season will be all eight of the Patriots who opted out last season. That should be a big boost for the team on both sides of the ball.
Now the downsides. Newton is a former Heisman Trophy winner and NFL MVP, but that feels like ages ago. Here’s how he closed out his 2020 campaign:
Cam Newton averaged 126 passing yards per game in his last 6 starts
Also, what types of weapons will Newton have to work with? Even before Julian Edelman went down last year the Patriots cupboard seemed bare and the offense felt slow. Edelman’s status for 2021 is up in the air at this point but even if he came back Week 1 healthy as horse, how much can you expect out of a 35-year-old wide receiver who isn’t Jerry Rice?
With that in mind, my ambivalence about today’s move is less about Newton and more about Bill. It seems like Belichick is afflicted by the same condition that afflicts Danny Ainge, which causes him the strong desire to only make trades when he can bury his trading partner. That would explain why he won’t play ball for Jimmy Garoppolo. I’m not advocating for a Matthew Stafford-like deal, but at some point you have to spend money to make money. How many times has Belichick traded down or out of the first round (or had other high-round picks seized by the league office)? Why not package some of the picks you were just gonna use on a guard from Navy or a lacrosse player from Penn and get the guy you really want?
The Patriots have a lot of blank spaces to fill in and questions to answer as they build their roster for the 2021 season. While this move fills in a blank space, it doesn’t answer many questions. In fact, it accentuates the other questions that were already there. What is the plan (or is there a plan) at running back, tight end, and wide receiver? I’ll be rooting for Newton, but unless the Patriots surround him with a better supporting cast, 2021 could be a rerun of 2020.
As a longtime Bill Burr fan and someone that owned Jerry Seinfeld standup CDs back in the 90s when those were a real thing, I was pretty skeptical of this going in, but my god this guy nails it.
— Jake Does Celebrities (@JakeDoesCelebs) March 8, 2021
Stand up comedy has always been one of my favorite things to watch, not just because it’s a comedy show that makes you laugh, but because of the sheer level of talent it takes. It’s just downright impressive to watch anyone at the top of their field and comedy is no exception.
They say the No. 1 fear of the average person is public speaking. Now I’m not exactly a JFK level orator, but I’d say I’m more worried about my next flight crashing than I am about speaking in front a crowd. With that being said I can’t even fathom how good of a public speaker and storyteller you have to be to become a successful comic. I mean of course the jokes are important, but when you really drill down it’s not the jokes that make the difference. It’s the timing, the delivery, the ability to tell long, winding stories and then bring it back all while keeping a crowd engaged and entertained.
Jerry Seinfeld of course is a perfect example of that. I actually had tickets to see Seinfeld live for the first time in my life last year before ya know COVID shut down the entire goddamn world. His stand up act is considered squeaky clean by today’s standards and is a lot of observations on mundane parts of every day life. Except it’s not so much the content of the joke that kills, it’s the way he delivers the jokes with his timing and storytelling. That is some world class talent. I mean I can still recite his entire bit on sinks in airplane bathrooms or Halloween costumes as a kid.
Here’s to the world opening back up as soon it’s safe so we can all grab some drinks, sit down at a club, and just watch stand up comics go to work once again.
I love Colin Cowherd, he’s one of the best in the business at what he does, but this guy on Twitter predicting Colin’s response to a wacky Baker Mayfield story is hilarious, yet telling. Maybe it’s time to punch up the script a little bit. Anyways Baker Mayfield claims to have seen a UFO the other night. Maybe he did, maybe he was high as a kite, I don’t know. But this fake Colin Cowherd quote in response to the UFO story made me laugh out loud.
“I just don’t like my franchise quarterback having alien encounters in the offseason. You know where you don’t have UFO sightings? The film room. Why do you think you don’t hear Tom Brady going X-Files? He’s watching tape. I mean, cmon Baker.” pic.twitter.com/aDQtivROyM
Now here’s what Cowherd actually said just a few hours later…
So, Baker Mayfield saw a UFO…
"Joe Montana, Troy Aikman, Terry Bradshaw & Tom Brady have never seen aliens. I would prefer my guys don't talk about it." —@ColinCowherdpic.twitter.com/B31yHxJvxP
It’s the backwards hat debate on steroids. Cowherd railed against Tony Romo for years and said he would never win a Super Bowl because he wore his hat backwards. That’t it. That was the pillar of the argument. CEOs don’t wear backwards hats vis a vis Tony Romo was a bum according to Colin. Anddd that’s where I get off.
At least Tom Brady was there to provide a little levity like a social media marketing snake in the grass just waiting for the perfect moment to strike and grab some retweets.
Off “No Ceilings 3,” which dropped in November 2020, Drake and Lil Wayne are back with some old school mixtape flows on BB King Freestyle. It’s no secret, but the sheer output of content from Wayne over the years is mind boggling. I have to admit though, I was texting some friends the other day because I was legitimately appalled at the use of Six Foot Seven Foot in a freaking Burger King commercial. Just when you think Weezy has either sold out, fallen off or stopped giving a shit he comes correct with a verse like this.
I’m proud of me, I don’t know how to be sorry, apologies You fuckin’ with my math, you better know some trigonometry ‘Cause I’ma be bustin’, leave your lima bean at your mama feet I flip the economy like Dominique Dawes They say I’m trippin’, I guess they wishin’ I finally fall
Yahoo Sports – James Harden may no longer be with the Houston Rockets, but his number is set to live in the rafters at the Toyota Center forever. The Rockets, owner Tilman Fertitta said on Tuesday, are set to retire Harden’s number later this season.
“James Harden will always be a Rocket,” Fertitta told the Houston Chronicle. “Of course, we will retire his jersey. He made my first three years of owning the franchise unforgettable. The success he brought this franchise over eight years and the memories he created for our fan base/community [are] truly remarkable.”
Harden will be the seventh player in team history to have his number retired by the organization, joining Calvin Murphy, Moses Malone, Hakeem Olajuwon, Rudy Tomjanovich, Clyde Drexler and Yao Ming. Longtime assistant coach and team executive Carroll Dawson had his initials retired, too.
This is like putting a giant framed picture of your ex-wife on the mantle in the house for your new girlfriend to look at every single day. I understand James Harden is undeniably one of the Rocket’s best players of all-time as a former league MVP and 8x All-Star, even if it didn’t lead to a championship, but it’s been less than TWO MONTHS since Harden shut it down and shot his way out of town. The dude was going to strip clubs (sorry, birthday parties) in the middle of a pandemic and missing games on the regular. The guy looked out of shape and unmotivated and was publicly criticizing his supporting cast as he demanded a trade through the media. So announcing that you plan to retire his number *this season* is some sad stuff.
In fairness Harden did play 8+ seasons with the Rockets, which is more than Yao Ming, Clyde Drexler, and Moses Malone. So I’m not saying you need to nuke your entire relationship with the Beard, but maybe give it some time to breathe before giving him the ultimate honor. And this is coming from a Celtics fan where every other number is already up in the rafters. The Celtics will probably be the first team to introduce three-digit numbers out of pure necessity.
But have some pride, man.
This ain’t Kevin Garnett reluctantly accepting a trade to Boston and giving up on Minnesota late in his career. This is a guy that routinely dictated moves he wanted like bringing on Chris Paul, then shipping out Chris Paul, then bringing on Russell Westbrook, then shipping out Russell Westbrook, and then looking around and deciding nah it ain’t working here, I’m out. And the Rockets aren’t some dumpster fire either, they made the playoffs every single season Harden was there, going as far as the Conference Finals twice. So if I’m a Rockets fan you bet I’m a little annoyed at the franchise immediately opting to retire his number like six weeks after Harden flipped the bird on his way out of town to greener pastures.
If you didn’t know what the Thong Song was and you heard this violin player you’d think this was part of the Boston Pops Orchestra. If you played this clip for your grandmother she would be delighted, that’s how good the strings are on this 1999 classic.
Shoutout to Sisqo for making an era defining song for millennials everywhere before they even knew what the hell he was talking about. Over 20 years later and that song still SLAPS every single time you hear it. And the video truly is a time capsule into the late 90s/early 2000s when wildly over the top TRL music videos ruled the world. Just leather vests, cowboy hats, gigantic asses, and highly choreographed routines with monochromatic backup dancers
Apparently Vice has been making all sorts of these behind the scenes mini docs on how songs like this were originally created and it is fascinating. I highly recommend you watch the entire episode on the Thong Song below because it is incredible.
Introducing The 300s Golf Hat. It is so choice, if you have the means I highly recommend picking one up. For those who want to class it up a little bit, this *embroidered* script font adjustable hat will do just that. Now because we are going the extra mile and getting these embroidered rather than screen printed we’ll need to do pre-orders rather than direct sales. So you can buy one now by pre-ordering below and we’ll shoot you an email with shipping updates. Get it now though because once the first pre-order goes out, we won’t have any extras in stock.
The 300s Embroidered Hat
For those who want to class it up a little bit, this *embroidered* script font adjustable hat will do just that.
$30.00
*Note this is a mockup and final designs may differ slightly. For any questions about you’re order please email Red@The300s.com
If you ever questioned just how much Tiger Woods means to his peers, yesterday effectively ended that debate as players all across the tour wore Tiger’s trademark Sunday Red to honor their injured friend. It was an awesome sight to see and I’ll be honest it got a little dusty over here.
It is hard to explain how touching today was when I turned on the tv and saw all the red shirts. To every golfer and every fan, you are truly helping me get through this tough time.
So thankfully Tiger’s car accident wasn’t as bad as it could have been. We hope to see him back out on the course one day, but more importantly it’s good to still have him with us.
The 300s 