Does Kyrie Realize He’s Only 26 Years Old?

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ESPN – “It’s been a trying year for us,” Irving told Nichols. “We basically have a bunch of young men in our locker room who feel like they’re capable of doing a lot more than they’re doing. And that’s OK, but there’s a maturing that you have to have. There’s a professionalism that you have to showcase every single day, and that’s what the great ones do.

“I initially didn’t play the minutes I wanted to play. I’m 26 years old, heading into my prime, like, why do I have to wait for anybody? [Terry Rozier] played in the playoffs. He did extremely well. Coming back, that’s a natural competition that me and him have.

“It is what it is. No one wants to say it, but I will. You know, [Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum], all these guys, it’s part of their growth. When you have winning in mind, you’ve gotta understand that. You gotta do what it takes, but you gotta understand your teammates.”

I fully understand I’m probably just listening to too much talk radio, but the quotes that have come out of this Kyrie Rachel Nichols interview where he’s constantly referring to the “young men” on the Celtics is becoming a bit much for me.

Kyrie is 26.

He’d be on the same high school varsity team with a lot of these dudes. Terry Rozier is 24, Jaylen Brown is 22. Tatum is a bit younger at 20, but the point remains. I was a moron at 26 and I cringe at the idea of talking down to slightly younger co-workers. Maybe its because as a millennial I am hyper aware of that disrespect from older bosses and baby boomers who can’t open a PDF.

I think Kyrie just needs to practice a bit more self awareness. You’re not that much older than these “young guys” that you are constantly shitting on in interviews. Jaylen Brown was just named the Vice President of the NBA Players Association for crying out loud. Maybe its not a maturity issue with the slightly younger players on the Celtics roster?

The Manny Machado Contract is All a Matter of Perspective

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After I heard about the massive $300 Million contract the Padres gave Manny Machado I tweeted that how you view it is all a matter of perspective. How you view this deal is a direct reflection on where you are in life.

If you’re a young dumb college kid then you drag an athlete for going to a team that in all likelihood will struggle to even make the playoffs. Why would a competitor ever want to do that? Whereas a 30 year old me goes in a much different direction. You’re going to pay me more money than anybody in the history of the sport to go live in sunny San Diego?

Give me the goddamn pen right now. I would move to California tonight for even a moderate bump in compensation because I am an adult with real world problems and student loans to pay. Grow up, 20-year old me.

With that being said, Manny Machado ruined Dustin Pedroia’s career so I hope he goes the way of Robinson Cano and is never heard from again spending the next decade playing in front of half empty stadiums on a 70 win team.

When Life Gives You Lemons, You Ski Behind Your Amish Horse Drawn Carriage

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You ever sit at your desk during the 9-5 grind and think what the hell am I doing with my life? Well not this guy! Oh I have to ride in a buggy built in 1920 to go do Amish things while it’s a cold and icy hell outside? Welp, might as well bust out my K2s and shred some pow while I’m at it. This guy gets it. When life gives you lemons, you ski behind your horse drawn carriage.

David Puddy Bobblehead Night Looked Awesome, Puddy Took a Digger

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FIRST of all, lets just get this out of the way. Don’t make it weird guys. David Puddy is low key YOKED. Was not expecting that from my guy Patrick Warburton.

I blogged about this last week and I was legitimately crestfallen that something this awesome was happening 4 hours away from me. Too lazy to drive down to New Jersey on a Tuesday night, BUT I will be hawking eBay later today looking to snag me one of these bad boys.

Would Signing Colin Kaepernick Make Sense for the Patriots?

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Image result for colin kaepernick patriots uniform

Get your popcorn ready, folks. We could be gearing up for a civil war in Pats Nation.

After settling with the NFL last week in his collusion suit against the league, Colin Kaepernick is apparently ready to get back out onto the field. And there are some who believe Foxborough could potentially be the new home for the 31-year-old quarterback.

NFL Hall of Famer Cris Carter initially brought up the idea on FS1’s “First Things First” this past Friday. Then, the following day, Kaepernick’s lawyer Mark Geragos said this to CNN:

“I think you’re going to see … within the next two weeks that somebody is going to step up and do the right thing, and you want me to predict who? Besides the Panthers, it would not surprise me if [Patriots owner] Bob Kraft makes a move.”

It’s important to note that this is nothing more than pure speculation, with literally zero supporting or corroborating evidence at the moment. But he was still rather specific regarding which teams he pointed out, right? I mean, there are 30 other franchises in the league that Geragos could have mentioned as well…but he didn’t. Typically, when there’s smoke there’s fire, so maybe there is something to this.

Now, it should also be pointed out that Bob Kraft is one of the only – if not THE only – NFL owner who has ever publicly supported Kaepernick in any way since the whole protest controversy began. Back in November, Kraft said the following to The New York Times when asked if he thinks the QB should get another chance in the NFL: “Let me say this: I would very much like to see him in the league” (h/t CBS Boston).

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Bobby is one of the only owners in the league who actually seems to have a social conscience.

OK, so we at least know for sure that Kraft is in favor of Kaepernick get another shot; we do not know, however, if that means he necessarily wants that shot to happen with his team.

Why? Well, because it would cause quite the uproar that, sadly, could hurt the team’s standing with a large portion of its loyal fan base.

I am not going to sit here and rehash the merits of Kapernick’s message or why those who oppose what he did feel the way they do. I was already pretty clear regarding my support for Kap’s cause last year, and my feelings haven’t changed one bit. Unfortunately, though, neither have the feelings of those who continue to unfairly vilify him while completely and utterly misconstruing the real purpose behind his actions; nothing I can say or do will ever change the minds of those who are that stubborn and ignorant – and Kraft knows that nothing that comes out of his mouth will make a damn difference either.

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Should that necessarily stop the team from taking a flyer on a talented, multi-tooled player who could serve as an extra (albeit unnecessary) weapon for a team that already just won a championship? No. In fact, if we’re being honest, nothing would bring me more joy than seeing all those irate and indignant Pats fans out there being forced to swallow the fact such a “MONSTER” would be wearing their favorite team’s uniform. (Seriously, I would REVEL in their rage. MAN, I want this to happen so bad SOLELY for that reason.)

But rather, it just doesn’t make sense from a football standpoint, and it’s probably not worth the circus act that would ultimately follow.

First, even if one supported signing Kaepernick, no Pats fan in their right mind should want to see him on the field for the team any time soon. If Kaepernick were to see any noteworthy playing time, that would only be because Tom Brady wasn’t able to play instead. And no, we’re not going to suddenly see Belichick and McDaniels start implementing the new multi-QB scheme we’ve seen teams like Baltimore and New Orleans try out recently. Not only is it foolish, but there is no way in hell Brady would ever stand for that. No freakin’ wayyyyy.

Secondly, for as physically talented as Kaepernick is, he’s really not as good as many of his supporters would like to believe. To be fair, he did post a pretty solid 16-to-4 TD-to-INT ratio in his last season with the 49ers, helping him finish with a 90.7 QB rating on the year over 11 starts. But his 28-30 career record, 59.8 completion percentage, and 177.8 passing yards per game are hardly inspiring. Were it not for his ability to run – which will only continue to deteriorate as he gets older – he would be nothing more than a serviceable backup.

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The guy is supremely talented, but he’s not really the world’s best field general.

Furthermore, he hasn’t played in three seasons, which in today’s NFL is a lifetime. Every year the game continues to adapt and change, and it’ll probably take him a while to shake off the rust. Especially in the Pats’ complex offensive system, he’ll likely struggle to pick things up, particularly if he barely gets any time other than the preseason to actually play within it. Let’s also not forget that the team already has a pretty good backup in Brian Hoyer, a guy who has years of experience within the scheme and apparently was the secret weapon in the team’s Super Bowl victory over the Rams.

And, again, what would the team actually stand to gain? You can’t even tell me that it’d be a move for the future. To reiterate: he’s 31 and hasn’t played one second of action in the league in either of the last two seasons. Also, I think we can all feel confident that Brady has at least two solid seasons left (if not more). Do you really believe that: a.) Kaepernick will wait that long to earn a starting role, or b.) the team should feel confident in a mid-30s scrambling QB leading them into the future once the G.O.A.T. is gone? Again, no freakin’ wayyyy.

Above all, Kap is looking to get PAID, and I just don’t see the Pats being willing to do that. Truthfully, with guys like Trey Flowers, Trent Brown, and Jason McCourty all set to hit free agency this offseason, I’d actually be pretty pissed if they did.

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Re-signing Flowers needs to be No. 1 on the Pats to-do list this offseason. Until that happens, literally nothing else even matters.

So settle down, everyone. No matter what side you’re on, I just can’t see the team going out to bring this guy in any time soon. I truly hope he gets his shot somewhere, even if it’s only to stick it in the craw of all the haters. But I just doubt it happens here.

Did Tim Tebow Just Inspire Me to Quit My Job?

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Love him or hate him you can’t deny the guy can give one hell of a motivational speech. He’s right too. It doesn’t matter if people think he’s getting special treatment or if people think he sucks at baseball. What matters is it’s something he wants to do, believes he can do, so why the hell not at least try? There’s nothing worse in life than regret so don’t just sit there and let your life tick away because you’re afraid of failure or what others might say. It does not mater. Do your thing.

Let me just put this and Billy Bob Thornton’s Friday Night Lights speech on rotation and I could run through a brick wall.

The transcription of Tebow’s full quote is below, courtesy of Yahoo.

“It’s really about keeping perspective and not letting other people define you because they sure want to. Shoot, I try to encourage young people all the time to not let the world or outside sources define you because you are always going to have critics and naysayers and people that are going to tell you that you won’t, that you can’t, that you shouldn’t. Most of those people are the people that didn’t, that wouldn’t, that couldn’t.

“Don’t be defined by the outside sources. You go after your dreams. Succeeding or failing is not making it to the bigs or it’s not necessarily fulfilling that. It’s having to not live with regret because I didn’t try. I just feel for all the young people who don’t go after something because they are so afraid of failing that you are going to live with a lot more regret than if you would’ve and you failed. I’m very passionate about that.

“I think the reason people don’t go after things is because how much you will be criticized. What if I fall flat on my face? Fear and doubt and all these things creep in. I just don’t believe that is the healthiest way to live. I don’t want to have to live with fear or doubt every day, regardless of what everybody here says about me. It doesn’t define me.

“I’m grateful that doesn’t define me. There is one thing that defines me and that’s what God says about me. Besides that, I get to go live out my dreams and help as many people along the way as possible.”

The AAF Apparently Needed a $250M Investment Just to Make Payroll in Week TWO

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Yahoo – For all the good publicity the Alliance of American Football received early on, it’s still a startup business. Like plenty of other startup businesses, the AAF might have been underfunded to start. The Athletic’s David Glenn, citing multiple sources, reported that the league was in danger of not making payroll last week, just the second week of the league’s existence.

The crisis was averted. Glenn wrote that Carolina Hurricanes majority owner Tom Dundon will be introduced as the AAF’s new chairman after investing $250 million to the AAF. The NHL owner’s investment allowed the league to meet its financial obligations...

“Without a new, nine-figure investor, nobody is sure what would have happened,” one source told Glenn at The Athletic. “You can always tell people their checks are going to be a little late, but how many are going to show up on the weekend for games when they don’t see anything hit their bank accounts on Friday?”

Isn’t this the first thing they teach you in business school? How to fund your business and keep the doors open? Thats like Day 1 stuff.

Look I am all for capitalism and people trying to make money and I really want the AAF to succeed, but without any big names like Tim Tebow playing, the only chance this league ever has of making it is if the NFL acquires it. The NFL would have to decide after over a decade of having no minor leagues (RIP NFL Europe) that they want to buy the AAF as a talent pipeline.

But I also find it hilarious that they’re almost going out of business in Week TWO after the peacocking about beating a regular season NBA game in the ratings on a random Saturday night and after Mattes faced the wrath of AAF Reddit (yes its a thing) for saying he wasn’t watching.

 

It’s a decent concept, but not exactly anything groundbreaking. I’d be curious to see the market specific TV ratings as it compares to competitors’ programming in the same time slots. Because not to sound like a complete arrogant dickhead, but we watch the New England Patriots up here. They have the greatest quarterback and the greatest coach of all time. So I’m not exactly fighting over the remote to watch Christian Hackenberg throwing ducks for 2 hours.

My point being, the smartest thing the AAF did was put these teams in cities where there isn’t established NFL competition. I know they’ve said they’re not competing with the NFL; they’re complimenting it. But even if they’re not competing with the NFL directly, they’re still competing for the attention of the NFL fan, which is why I’d be curious to see the TV ratings in those non-traditional football markets. Markets that are starved for the sport. It’d be like putting a Big 3 League residency in Seattle. There’s an appetite for it.

So while I wish the AAF all the best, aside from watching a few minutes of a game at the bar, this whole story doesn’t exactly inspire confidence. Not to mention they got Vince McMahon licking his chops with the XFL closer to kicking off every single day.

#RushHourRap Video Series Coming Soon

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I’ve known Jimmy Lips for over a decade and I can’t think of anyone I randomly talk, text, and tweet to about rap more than this guy. The dude I took a car to a bus to a boat with to go see Lupe Fiasco on a goddamn island in New York City. This is who we’re going to be launching the #RushHourRap video series with and I’m pretty stoked about it. Keep an eye out for more details coming soon…

I Know What the NBA All Star Game is Missing

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I’ve had a few days to process the NBA All-Star Game now and I’m honestly amazed I made it through 75% of the game. Damn, that shit is boring. Nobody plays defense, people jog back and forth, and just chuck 3s. Every now and then there’s a nice dunk or alleyoop and Chuck or Kenny Smith says something stupid (pull!), but that’s about all the entertainment there is. There’s honestly less than 5 plays worth seeing, and you can catch those highlights online. To save you some time, here are the only two dunks worth seeing:

Luckily, I know how to fix the game. Make the ASG a real live game of NBA Jam. Limit the number of players on the court to two per side, subbing out every two minutes, make everyone wear flame retardant gloves, and any time someone makes 2 shots in a row light the ball on fire and have at it….

But seriously, it’s time to update the ASG. Adding the draft last year was a good start, but they need to go further. And I think they can do that by taking a cue from NBA Jam. Obviously I don’t mean the part about fire, but remember how every now and then a star would appear on the floor with a number and it would be worth that many points? That’s what I mean. 

Here’s how I would do it: you have 3-4 marked circles on each end of the court, and they randomly light up with a number inside. Each time that number is different. I’d maybe only do it on 15-20% of possessions, but I think that would be enough to add some excitement and keep the players on their toes. 

The game is already an arcade game as it is, why not take it a step further? 500 points in a game would be hilarious. It wouldn’t need to be every time down the court, but if they did it infrequently enough that players would all of a sudden kick the ball out to a spot from way behind the arc, that could add some excitement to the game. It would also force the game to be close, and maybe you do actually see people trying to play defense on those shots. It’s already a chuck-fest, why not make those shots worth more points? Plus, this would open up the floor for even more dunks. Not only that, but there have been murmurs of the NBA considering a 4 point shot, and although I think that would be moronic, it would give them a grounds to test it out. Yo Adam Silver, let’s get it done!