Recap: Last Thursday looked oh, so promising until Malcolm Brogdon decided to hit his over as the game-winning 3-pter in OT against the Magic.
First Pick: Terry Rozier O17.5 pts vs IND (-120)
Fact #1: The Pacers are allowing an average of 25 PPG to the two-guard position over their last seven games.
Fact #2: Rozier has eclipsed 18 pts in four of his last six.
Second Pick: Jerami Grant O23.5 pts vs CLE (-110)
Fact #1: Grant went for 28 the first time these teams played and has eclipsed 24 pts in four of his last six.
Fact #2: The Cavs are allowing 28.5 PPG to the small forward position — the 2nd-most by any team — over their last seven games.
Third Pick: Evan Fournier O17.5 pts vs SAC (-134)
Fact #1: Fournier has eclipsed 18 points in all four games since returning from injury.
Fact #2: The Kings are allowing 27 PPG to the two-guard position over their last seven contests.
Obligatory homer picks incoming…
Fourth Pick: Kyrie Irving O24.5 pts vs ATL (-118)
Fact #1: Irving has hit this number in three of four games since Harden’s arrival
Fact #2: The Hawks allow an average of 25 PPG to the PG position over their last seven.
Fifth Pick: James Harden O9.5 assists vs ATL (+107)
Fact #1: Harden has recorded double-digit assists in five of six games since joining Brooklyn and this game should be very high-paced as the previous two matchups were.
Sixth Pick: Nets -5.5 vs ATL (-110)
Fact #1: The Nets are catching the Hawks in their third-game-in-four-nights and they struggled to get past a Kawhi and PG13-less Clippers team last night.
Seventh Pick: Bucks -2.5 1st quarter vs TOR (-108)
Fact #1: The Bucks are an NBA-best 12-4 against the 1st quarter spread this season. Yes, Toronto is 11-6, but they will be with OG Anunoby, while Siakam is a game-time decision.
This YouTube video itself is a couple of years old so you may have already seen it, but as I watched Star Wars: A New Hope hungover on the couch on Saturday I remembered just how awesome this clip is. Star Wars was obviously a groundbreaking, archetype constructing film that movies after it forever mimicked. With that being said, some of the movie hasn’t aged as well, which is to be expected 40+ years later. One of the more dated aspects is the climactic lightsaber battle between Darth Vader and Obi Wan Kenobi, mainly because Sir Alec Guinness was already 63-years-old when he played the legendary Jedi. And since CGI wouldn’t be invented for another generation the huge standoff between former master and padawan leaves a lot to be desired in terms of choreography.
Which is why I am campaigning for this CGI reimagining of the Vader Obi Wan fight created by FXitinPost to be digitally reinserted into all future airings of A New Hope. It takes what you already know is a genre defining battle and gives it the Hollywood treatment it truly deserves. Joey B and I were talking the other night about how the new Star Wars movies look great, but the stories have been kind of meh, which is the inverse of the originals. This gives us the best of both worlds, which is exactly what we got a glimpse of in one of the Star Wars standalone films. You never really understood the power and the violence and the rage of Darth Vader until that final scene in Rogue One where he makes it abundantly clear in just 90 seconds why he’s not to be fucked with.
It’s like I never felt alive before Mhmm, I’d rather have me peace of mind than war See me and you, we ain’t that different I struck the fuck out and then I came back swingin’ Take my time to finish, mind my business A life ain’t a life ’til you live it
It’s no secret that I’m a big Mac Miller fan and last week would have been his 29th birthday after passing away in 2018, which is crazy he wouldn’t have even been 30 yet. I think Mac was an artist that I related to because I was in college when he first started popping online and he was rapping about a lot of the same stuff I was doing. He was probably the most successful out of the white kid frat rap genre (Asher Roth, Sammy Adams, Chris Webby etc.) that was like a comet back in the late 2000s, but he was also the only one to really grow up and his music reflected that.
K.I.D.S. and Best Day Ever still immediately takes me back to drinking around campus and Blue Slide Park came out when I was living by myself in New York working my first real life job. (It was also the first time I owned a car with an actual CD player) Watching Movies With the Sound Off though is where Mac really started experimenting and you could see he was trying to break out of the party rapper mold, which eventually led to much more well rounded albums like GO:OD AM. He started branching out into other genres like funk and somehow successfully bending that to fit his own style like he did with The Divine Feminine before releasing arguably his best all around album Swimming, released just over a month before his death in 2018. His family and inner circle posthumously released his Circles album in 2020 as well.
But I think one of the most enduring examples of his work oddly enough was his NPR Tiny Desk Concert. I was feeling nostalgic the other day so I threw that up on YouTube and it just shows the growth Mac Miller had from his early days as he croons with a live band including one of my favorite songs of his, the melancholy ballad “2009.” There are much worse ways to spend 15 minutes of your day so I highly recommend checking it out.
Recap: Friendly reminder to you all + self: make sure to see if the player you pick is starting before selecting him for two props (i.e. Joe Harris).
First Pick: Lauri Markkanen O17.5 pts vs CHA (-125)
Fact #1: Markkanen has eclipsed 18+ points in two straight.
Fact #2: The Hornets are allowing an average of 24 PPG to the SF position over their last seven games.
Second Pick: Bulls 1st Quarter ML vs CHA (+105)
Fact #1: Due to a postponed game against Washington on Wednesday, the Hornets have had the past five days off, so I’d expect the tiniest bit of rust to be shaken off through the first 12 minutes.
Fact #2: The Bulls are 9-5 ATS in the 1st quarter this season.
Third and Fourth Picks: Mason Plumlee O8.5 pts (-110) and O7.5 rbs (-122) vs HOU
Fact #1: Christian Wood is out tonight. For you “casuals” out there like Shaq, that means there are a lot of rebounds up for grabs tonight.
Fact #2: With PJ Tucker playing the 5, I have to imagine he draws Plumlee and Blake is matched with Boogie Cousins on both sides. That’s a 5-6 inch advantage for Plums.
Fact #3: Plumlee has eclipsed 9+ points in three straight and has 8+ boards in three of his last five.
Fifth Pick: Malcolm Brogdon U22.5 pts vs ORL (+105)
Fact #1: Brogdon has yet to string together consecutive games over 23 points — that’s literally the logic behind this pick.
Sixth Pick: Kyrie Irving O26.5 pts vs CLE (-117)
Fact #1: Collin Sexton got the best of Irving, so it’s only fair for Kyrie to return the favor. Irving returned with 37 points on Wednesday and no Durant should mean he could get at least 30 this season.
Seventh Pick: James Harden O28.5 pts vs CLE (-110)
Fact #1: Harden’s point totals in three games with BRK are 32, 34 and 21. The 21 came with Durant on the floor. With him out tonight, that’s a lot of shots for him and Kyrie to have in their quest for 30 each.
There has been rampant speculation the last week or so that Julian Edelman may be calling it a career after a rather innocuous tweet, but hey the Patriots aren’t playing in January for the first time in forever so people are bored and reading more into things than they normally would. Despite missing the last 10 games of the season due to knee surgery, Edelman came out today and squashed any rumors of him retiring just yet. If you’ve been paying attention over the last decade or so, it’s hard to imagine him going out on Injured Reserve. With that being said, that time is coming sooner than later, so let’s take a look at some of the key factors that led to his return.
1.) Edelman has 1 year left on his contract
Despite being beat to all hell over the years, the guy just loves to ball. So with at least one year left where a team wants him to play football for them, I can’t see Edelman saying no to that. Whether he probably should retire or not with his long term health in mind is a different question. I know he’s pretty far behind Stanley Morgan in terms of Touchdowns and Receiving Yards (and games played), but with his 3 Super Bowl rings, his reliability on the field, his Jerry Rice-esque playoff stats, and his laundry list of clutch plays, Edelman is already the greatest receiver in Patriots history if you ask me. He’s also only 52 receptions behind Wes Welker for the all-time Patriots record so that could factor into him playing another season or two.
2.) Does Edelman want to retire a Patriot or rejoin Tom Brady?
In what seems to be a popular move these days a lot of former Patriots are finding their way down to Tampa. Whether thats through a pseudo-retirement like Gronk, which still doesn’t sit well with me, or even guys who only had a cup of coffee, albeit a wildly successful cup, with the Pats like Antonio Brown. There’s also speculation that more could join him like impending free agent James White, who would be an oh so perfect fit in Tampa. So with Edelman announcing he’ll be back that would seem to confirm he’s not going to try and force his way out of town to rejoin Tom in Florida. Now if he’s healthy and Tom is still playing, he could link up with him after *next* season, but those are two big ifs. Mostly because Edelman’s health is never a certainty, but also because Brady only signed a 2-year contract so he could actually, finally, be retired at that point.
But I think this is missing the entire point.
While Julian Edelman clearly reveres Tom Brady, people seem to forget how much he genuinely loves playing for Bill Belichick. If you’ve seen Edelman’s documentary or read any of his life story then you know Edelman’s dad was a Hall of Fame hard ass who worked Jules’ to the bone growing up and helped mold him into the guy he is today. And I genuinely believe that is something that Edelman not only appreciates, but he craves it. Not to mention Belichick is the only guy that gave Edelman a shot coming out of college and again putting him in a position to succeed in the NFL.
Plus few people have embraced living in Boston more than Edelman has. The guy still lives in the Back Bay, rides his skateboard around town, and is known to pop into random spots like Hojoko in Fenway for a burger. So yes the Pats were a dumpster fire last year while the Bucs are still playing for a Super Bowl berth, but with everything I just rattled off I truly think Edelman wants to retire as a Patriot.
3.) Slot Receiver History
Edelman will be 35 before the start of training camp with 11 seasons already under his belt and a litany of injuries over the years, but I can’t imagine a guy with a self produced documentary called “100%” and a biography called “Relentless” wanting to go out this way. Keep in mind, statistically he had literally his best game EVER in Week 2 against Seattle going off for 8 catches and 179 yards before nagging injuries caught up to him and the wheels fell off the Cam Newton experiment. So as of just a few months ago he still had elite production. However he is already past the expiration date we see on just about every slot receiver, who all take an inhumane level of abuse throughout their careers. Wes Welker retired at the age of 34, but had his last 50+ reception season at 32. The Jets’ all-time slot guy Wayne Chrebet retired at the age of 32. Troy Brown is probably the best Edelman comparison at this point as he caught his last pass at the age of 35 when he had 43 receptions for 384 yards and 4 Touchdowns. Obviously the talent devoid Patriots will need more from a 35-year-old Edelman than 43/384/4 if they’re going to be successful, but thats the measuring stick for 35-year-old slot receivers. Clearly it’s not fair to expect 100 receptions from a guy going into his 12 season, but that just goes to show you the situation the Pats have put themselves in with poor personnel moves (trading a 2nd for Mohamed Sanu) and even worst drafting (1st round WR N’Keal Harry).
While I have no idea if Belichick will do what I hope he does and execute Order 66 this offseason to get the Patriots back to where they need to be, I am glad we get to watch at least one more year of Julian Edelman.
In one of the first scenes of the show “Billions” something is uttered to the effect that when it comes to main character Bobby Axelrod, he doesn’t call meetings, they form around him. A similar statement could be made, in a way, about mixed martial arts and the UFC’s lightweight division in regards to a one Conor McGregor, the former champion of that weight class and the biggest star the sport has ever seen. Some question the validity of McGregor’s current claim to the top echelon of that division, and that’s fair. There was his leaving the division, then MMA as a whole, then returning to lose to the reigning lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, and then him taking a fight outside what one may call the contender’s bracket, against a declining Donald Cerrone. However this is still the fight game and he’s still Conor McGregor. What’s more is that the three other lightweight contenders fighting on Saturday night also have both excellent resumes and yet shaky immediate claims to area surrounding the throne. McGregor’s opponent, Dustin Poirier, is coming into the night on a one fight winning streak having lost to Khabib two fights ago. In the co-main event, Dan Hooker, a highly touted prospect cum contender lost his last fight to Poirier. His opponent, Michael Chandler, is debuting in the UFC and is thus unranked and untested against the best the promotion has to offer. So, while the biggest superstar in the history of the sport may not lay such a valid claim as he once did, that claim is still there in the context of this group and he is still as they say, in some aspects, the king.
The two fighters that reach the peak Saturday night meet only uncertainty, oddly enough. Firstly, Dana White said a tremendous performance from any one fighter may be enough to bring the retired Nurmagomedov back, although The Eagle has since said otherwise. Keep in mind this is a stance he has kept since his last victory and retirement in October. Secondly, and possibly more notably, we have #3 contender Charles Oliveira. Oliveira sits only below Poirier and Khabib’s last victim, Justin Gaethje, in the 155lb rankings and recently beat divisional stalwart and perennial top 5 fighter Tony Ferguson, only to be left without a dance partner this weekend. With that said, it could be that the more impressive of the two victors receives not the opportunity to retrieve the belt from Nurmagomedov as White contends, but a chance to fight for a vacated championship against Oliveira.
All of that comes after 40 possible minutes of combat however, and it is still just a guess which two men come out victorious. For them all their is left to do is make weight and fight. For me, to try and guess who does the latter better.
Ribas is a win or two away from becoming a bonafide sensation on the women’s side of MMA. Her last time out, she put away divisional veteran and sometimes contender Paige Van Zant with an armbar in round one – and didn’t seem to break too much of a sweat doing it. While Ribas has developed some effective and varied striking, mainly hooks from all levels and a diet of body kicks, grappling is where her bread is buttered. She a black belt in both Judo and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and will use the former former to get her opponents to the mat and set up the latter. Ribas is savvy St using pressure and her striking to get her opponents to the cage and begin the grappling exchange, starting with an arsenal of trips and throws.
Rodriguez is in the curious spot of being ranked quite highly but being positioned as a bit of an afterthought. A replacement for Michelle Waterson in this bout, Rodriguez is coming off a decision loss to Carla Esparza, a razor close fight in which one judge saw Rodriguez as the victor. The Muay Thai practitioner has also drew with former top, and oversized, strawweight contender Cynthia Calvillo while beating mainstay Tecia Torres and former WSOF champion Jessica Aguilar. Style-wise, she is a downright vicious striker who will use her long, straight punches and kicks to abuse amd frustrate her opponents. What makes her a particularly tricky match up for Ribas however is her prowess in the clinch. Should Ribas lock up along the fence, she may be fed a knee or elbow for her trouble.
Due to the aforementioned clinch, this is a tricky one to pick. The on-fire upstart or the steadily climbing contender.
The Pick: Amanda Ribas def. Marina Rodriguez (SUB, RD2)
Dan Hooker (#6) vs. Michael Chandler (Unranked, UFC Debut) – Lightweight (155lbs) Fight
One could look at the rankings and then this fight and its implications and wonder what the fuck is going on but here we are. This fight is the result of the current/probably retired champion taking out the second ranked contender, that second rank contender taking out the fifth rank contender to earn that title fight, and a slew of other divisional dominoes falling. Nonetheless both guys have earned this and will cement their spot atop the division with the win.
New Zealand’s Hooker has been nothing short of a revelation since moving up to 155lbs from 145lbs, where he was forved to cut just way too much weight from his 6′ frame. Now a little more well nourished, he has collected a handful of knockouts to show for it and is now a fight or two away from securing a title shot. A long, rangy kickboxer, Hooker uses his footwork and head movement about as well as anyone in the division. Not just committed to straight punches, Hooker will change the level of where he is throwing and landing his punches at a moments notice, and they’ll come with some pop on them as well. What he really likes to do is either set up or finish off those combos with a long, high knee up the middle. Being a taller, flexible guy for the division, Hooker is able to hit opponents dead in the chin at the snap of a finger with a knee with no set up. It should also be noted, especially due to him fighting a shorter, wrestling-minded opponent, that Hooker has a couple of wins by guillotine. Should he find him self against the fence, he may try and submit his way off of it. My knock on Hooker is that his last two fights against Poirier and Paul Felder have been his two biggest and he could not close the show. That knockout ability against lighter competition is great but if he can’t bring it with him, he’ll find out what a rough game it could be trying to outpoint the division’s best on the way to a title shot. In tbis case especially, outpointing an unproven, in the UFC at least, commodity won’t serve Hooker well to work his way into the top 5.
Standing on the other aide of the cage will be Michael Chandler, who up until Saturday night will have spent most of his professional career in the MMA purgatory known as Bellator. That said Chandler fared just fine against the talent coming from or oing to the UFC and thus deserves the respect of a top tier lightweight. In terms of what he does in the cage, Chandler could be described as Team Alpha Male-esque in style, particularly in the Ludwig/Kampmann eras, despite him having no affiliation with the California camp. He is indeed a stocky, athletic former college wrestler, having earned D1 All American accolades at Missouri. He also, like many athletes coming out the renowned California camp (Chandler did this camp at Sanford MMA in Florida with Henri Hooft), has developed quite a fluid kickboxing game that sees him switching stances fluidly, throwing heavy overhands and hooks, and keeping opponents at bay with low and body kicks. His striking does have holes however. He can be hittable, which may actually be more due to him being a bit on the small side of the division – he’ll be giving up four inches in height and reach to Hooker on Saturday – and thus his opponents are able to hit him first rather than the alternative. He also puts A LOT into his power shots which can throw him off balance. All of that said he still has quality striking which leads to, of course, his wrestling. Chandler loves to shoot for a blast double and use the cage to finish it, either applying ground and pound or fishing for a submission from there. The big achilles heel for the Missouri native seems to be his gas tank. He is seen as a guy who comes out absolutely firing them runs out of steam earlier than one would hope. However, this is only a three round fight, not a five round affair like Chandler has come to know all too well.
The Pick Dan Hooker def. Michael Chandler (RD3, Decision)
The Main Event Conor McGregor (#4) vs. Dustin Poirier (#2) – Lightweight (155lbs) Fight
Dublin collides with Lafayette, Louisiana for a second time Saturday as these two future hall of famers run back their 2014 contest. Fought at featherweight the first time around, McGregor was able to wear down a depleted Poirier (this would be his last fight at 145lbs) and knock him out in round 1.
Mystic Mac returns to 155lbs after taking on Donald Cerrone in what seems more and more as a cameo at 170lbs about a year ago. That came about a year and a half after getting mauled and submitted by Nurmagomedov at UFC229 in October of 2018. With the promise of becoming a more active fighter only one thing hanging in the balance, McGregor also puts his place as a top divisional contender on the line, for now, as well.
It seems somewhere between silly and pretentious at this point to detail what Conor does in the cage. However his style has shifted a bit over the years. Although he has not completely shifted away from throwing hook and spinning kicks to set up his attacks, Conor has become a bit more straightforward in his approach. This could be due to his improved pure boxing, evidenced by his foray into that sport professionally. More and more he has come to favor throwing front kicks to the body to weaken his opponents or bring their hands down, leaving their heads exposed. Also still a part of his arsenal are hard roundhouse kicks to both the body and head, again thrown to do damage as well as to move his opponents defense into a more advantageous position. Obviously his main weapon remains his piston-like straight left hand. One thing to mention is the fact that McGregor’s grappling has greatly improved, particularly defensively from both a shot-stopping and on-the-mat perspective.
While not stylistically a much different fighter than in 2014, Poirier is a much better one. He is now one of the cleaner boxers in the entire sport and will throw high volume combinations hitting both the head and body. Although not impossible, and sometimes too possible, to hit, Poirier can employ phenomenal head movement to set up those combinations, truly getting into an uncompromising flow with his abuse. With that said, it may just be the truth that the American Top team representative fights best in a phone booth, cracking his opponents with short hooks and uppercuts, as well as the occasional knee. His straight left can sizzle much like McGregor’s, but for me it’s was a bit disappointing that Poirier was unable to put away Hooker in his last fight, particularly given the shots he was landing on the Kiwi. Grappling-wise, he is a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt whose submission attempts seem to come out of nowhere sometimes. With that said he doesn’t have otherworldly wrestling to strike fear into McGregor with so unless he is able to begin fishing for something substantial against the cage, that facet of his game and the fight may be null.
The Pick: Conor McGregor def. Dustin Poirier (RD2, TKO/KO)
ADDITIONAL PREDICTION:
Justin Gaethje-Nate Diaz announced during the PPV.
Bill Burr just effortlessly dunking on the nerds yet again. I guess this just speaks to living in one place for so long because to be honest I didn’t even notice his Boston accent in The Mandalorian. Burr has, what is in my experience, a pretty typical, understated yet distinct Boston accent despite living in LA for so many years.
Im sorry but Bill Burr’s accent in star wars implies some sort of space Boston
Burr is right though, Star Wars nerds are fine with C-3PO sounding like he’s been knighted or even the fact that in a galaxy far far away the dominant language is the same exact one as yours, but as soon as Billy Red Face starts dropping his R’s we got a problem. It’s not like he was committing the cardinal sin of unironically playing up his accent, which is something akin to treason in Boston.
All jokes aside, Bill Burr is a sneaky really good actor. He’s done bits in the past about how he used to only get the goofy friend role in rom coms because nobody was casting a leading man with bright red hair. He crushed it on Chappelle’s Show back in the day and had some funny roles over the years (i.e. The Heat), but when he showed up in a serious role as Kuby in Breaking Bad I think a lot of people, myself included, took a step back and said oh shit Billy can act.
Now he’s got a recurring guest spot on one of the biggest shows around and I say this without an ounce of sarcasm, I would watch an entire spin off series starring Mayfeld just dicking around the galaxy. Make it happen, Favreau.
First Pick: D’Angelo Russell O23.5 Pts vs ATL (-114) – win
Fact #1: Hawks are allowing 28.3 PPG to the point guard position over their last seven games.
Fact #2: Russell has reached 24+ points in four of his last five.
Second Pick: Clint Capela O14.5 Pts vs MIN (-118) – win
Fact #1: T-Wolves are allowing a league-high 28.5 PPG to the center position over their last seven games.
Fact #2: Capela has eclipsed 15+ in two straight.
Third Pick: Jerami Grant O22.5 Pts vs MIA (-115)
Fact #1: The Heat without Jimmy Butler have struggled to guard the SF position and thus have allowed 25 PPG to that position over their last seven.
Fact #2: Grant has reached 23+ points in five of his last six.
Fourth Pick: Pascal Siakam O7.5 rebs vs DAL (-114)
Fact #1: The Mavs are allowing 12 rebounds/game to the PF position over their last seven.
Fact #2: Siakam has eclipsed 8 rebounds in four of his last six.
Fifth Pick: Kevin Durant O29.5 Pts vs MIL (-122)
Fact #1: Durant has eclipsed 30 points in three of his last four.
Fact #2: Seems like KD’s over hits just about every night + having Harden on the court should afford him the same room to operate that he enjoyed with Kyrie, if not more.
Racks on racks, I don’t rap on tracks Without my A-game, so please don’t ask me about no pressure Bitch, with the grip of my fingertip I can hold this coast together
Ab-Soul goes hard on “ILLuminate,” but Kendrick Lamar is so so good. K-Dot isn’t a voracious social media user though so I feel like he drifts in and out of people’s minds. He came out with what I said was the album of the year in 2017 with “DAMN.” He followed that up in 2018 with the surprisingly excellent movie soundtrack to Black Panther. Movie soundtracks are usually flimsy albums with one hit song like Wild Wild West, but Kendrick took the job serious as all hell and put out a legit full fledged album. He’s been relatively quiet in the two years since so we’re stepping into the way back machine for this 2012 Ab-Soul track “ILLuminate” featuring Kendrick doing the damn thing.
The 300s 