Tag: Media Day

LeBron Gives Celtics Rivalry Some Juice with Latest Comments on Kyrie Irving

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I for one am ecstatic that the Celtics-LeBron rivalry is getting some much needed juice. I’ll always love going up against LeBron, but it really hasn’t been the same since the 2012 Eastern Conference Finals. Ya know when he ripped our guts out in Game 6 with an otherworldly performance? Yea that was the final stand of the Big 3 and the launching of the LeBron we know now.

Its been a long road back but the Celtics are finally competing with LeBron for a trip to the Finals once again. He’s just been the one coming out of the East for the last 7 years in a row… So its been a little one sided. And while playing LeBron is always contentious, I feel like we haven’t really had that venom since Pierce, KG, and Rondo left the team. Rondo was the last guy who visibly hated LeBron James. So these games just haven’t had that extra juice.

Until now.

Kyrie Irving seemed to have had enough of LeBron son-ing him and by LeBron’s comments at Media Day today I can see why.

“I tried to do whatever I could to help the kid out and be the best player he could be…Other than that, I wish the kid great health and the kid wanted to do what’s best for his career.” via UPROXX

THAT. That right there is the condescending shit I’m sure Irving was sick of. Now, yes, LeBron is the best player in the world and you’d be stupid not to take his advice, but there comes a time and a point where you gotta stop treating people like children, which LeBron seems to be missing here.

Bleacher Report even said as much, citing a Stephen A. Smith report on the situation:

“James showed a little disrespect Monday while referring to his former teammate as “the kid,” which was apparently an underlying problem in their relationship. Stephen A. Smith of The Undefeated noted there was a problem of the veteran treating Irving like a child.”

So Kyrie said enough of this shit and shot his way out of town. Followed up by cryptic silences and then his since viral appearance on First Take where he basically told LeBron to fuck himself.

Now we’ve got LeBron coming out with this sob story like a scorned lover saying “I tried to do whatever I could to help the kid out.”

Don’t give me that bullshit LeBron. Kyrie Irving carried the Cavs down the stretch in Game 7 of the 2016 Finals and hit the goddamn game winner and ya didn’t even mention his name once afterwards. So Kyrie was over it, time to move on. Now what would make it all the sweeter? Beating LeBron on the way of course.

But, I gotta give respect where its due though because thats what makes me a Big-J Journalist. As soft as LeBron comes off at times, this was an A+ response when asked what advice he’d give Kyrie now. Sounds like something Kobe would have said in his prime:

“If my son went to another team and asked for advice, I ain’t giving him s–t,” he told the media, per Ben Axelrod of WKYC.

No Experience Required?

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super-bowl-li-patriots-patch-590x590On The 300s Podcast this week, we discussed whether or not previous Super Bowl experience would be a benefit for the Patriots heading into their Super Bowl LI matchup with the Atlanta Falcons. At first thought, I assumed previous Super Bowl experience would be a huge advantage for the Patriots.

The week leading up the Super Bowl is a gongshow. Media Day Opening Night is a just the beginning of a week full of distractions, and who blocks out distractions better than the Patriots? But Michael Salfino had an interesting piece in the Wall Street Journal on Friday, basically picking my assumption apart, piece by piece.

New England has 17 more players with Super Bowl experience (21) than the Falcons. In the last 40 Super Bowls, a team has held this advantage over its opponent 38 times. These teams are 16-22 in those games…

An edge at the game’s most important position didn’t matter either. Teams have had a QB with prior Super Bowl experience 19 times versus a team like the Falcons and Matt Ryan with none and are 9-10.

I stand corrected. Upon further reflection, this holds up pretty well over the last 15 years. Just off the top of my head, experience didn’t help the 2001 Rams, the 2007 Patriots, the 2009 Colts, the 2010 Steelers or the 2013 Broncos in the big game. It seems like Super Bowl veterans are just as liable to put up clunkers (Peyton Manning 2013) as Super Bowl first-timers (Cam Newton 2015).

The Super Bowl is such a colossal event that maybe no matter how many times you’ve been, each trip is its own adventure. We’ll see what events unfold this week, but I’m no longer under the impression that Brady’s six previous Super Bowl appearances give him the edge over Matt Ryan. I’d still take Brady over Ryan if I had my pick at QB but maybe Ryan and Atlanta’s blissful Super Bowl ignorance isn’t a shortcoming after all. Looking at the history of this game, maybe having no baggage is an advantage.