Yahoo – The former Seattle SuperSonics big man found out the hard way just how ruthless of a trash-talker Bird was when he faced him as a rookie in 1989. During a recent appearance on the Knuckleheads podcast with Quentin Richardson & Darius Miles, Kemp recalled a meeting with Bird that has stuck with him to this day.
“We were playing the Boston Celtics, so the great Larry Bird. I’m from Indiana and Larry’s from Indiana,” Kemp said. “I knew about the history of Larry but I didn’t realize how he really got down. …
“Larry gave me 50 [points] in three quarters. And he talked to me the whole entire game. He asked me at the jump ball, ‘You’re the one that broke all my records in high school right?’ and I said ‘Yeah, that’s me.’ and he said ‘I’ve got something for you tonight.'”
In honor of today being Larry Bird’s 64th birthday, it’s a great time to remind everyone how Larry Legend wasn’t just a basketball icon, he was also a shit talking savant.
Michael Jordan gets tons of credit for being a master trash talker and somehow figuring out a way to make everything a slight against him,
But people don’t realize how ruthless Larry Bird was because he looks like an unassuming white dude putting up mid range jumpers at the Y.
Here comes this rookie in Shawn Kemp and Bird already knows his whole life story and takes it personal that Kemp broke his high school scoring records. Mind you, this is after Bird had already won three championships and three MVP awards in the NBA. Just an all-time shit talker from his “Who’s coming in second?” line at the 3 point contest, to playing a game left handed, to his “Merry fucking Christmas” line during a Christmas Day game, to telling Reggie Miller “I am the best fucking shooter in the league.”
Check out a collection of the best stories here, put some Larry Bird YouTube highlights on loop, and then weep that we were too young to watch him play. We did get another Hall of Fame shit talker in Kevin Garnett though and for that I am grateful.
In a weird, pandemic interrupted season that stretched 11 months and 27 days the Celtics went from an unmitigated disaster last summer watching two max contract players leave for nothing to landing Kemba Walker and going on a run to the Eastern Conference Finals. Despite all the missed opportunities that arose once the NBA season resumed, the Celtics accomplished what so few teams ever can; rebuilding on the fly. As Kemba said in his post-game press conference last night, “This is our first year together, we are going to have some time to grow.” He’s not wrong.
Now that the back patting is over, lets take a look at the epic choke job the Celtics completed last night. For whatever reason this team struggled mightily when it came to neck stepping time. Whether they’re too young, lack a killer instinct, or just don’t have a defined closer on the team, whatever it was, this team struggled to finish games. We saw it in the Raptors series that they were lucky to escape in 7 and it carried over to the Eastern Conference Finals where the Celtics blew late leads in Games 1 and 2. The latter of which led to an all-time dysfunctional locker room blowout before winning Game 3, dropping Game 4, and winning Game 5 to force a 6th and decisive game. It looked like Boston’s talent was going to do what it had in the previous round, overwhelm their gritty opponent. They even forced the Heat to go away from their vaunted zone defense as the Celtics finally figured out a consistent way to penetrate and disrupt.
However, when it came to crunch time the Celtics once again WITHERED. The Celtics defense imploded as the Heat scored at will.
The Celtics closed out Game 6 with a 159.1 defensive rating over the final nine minutes, allowing the Heat to score on 10(!) consecutive possessions in one stretch. On one last crunch-time collapse: https://t.co/SltOwilYtp
BRobb also tweeted out the Celtics’ clutch stats (idk ask BRobb for the definition of that one) and they’re just as bad as you’d expect.
Celtics final clutch stats against Heat over five games (19 minutes of clutch play) Offensive rating: 85.3 Defensive rating: 150 Net rating -64.7 https://t.co/SltOwilYtp
With 9 minutes to go in the game and Boston up by six, the Heat went on a 26-6 run to officially stomp them out. Even worse was their absolutely moronic, panic stricken shot selection down the stretch.
Jayson Tatum makes a two point shot to make it 102-103 with 5:40 left. Next possessions
Kemba missed three Tatum turnover Kemba missed three Tatum missed three Smart missed three Tatum missed tech FT Jaylen missed three Smart missed layup Kemba turnover
Where the hell is Brad Stevens during all that? The Heat went on something like a 19-6 run before he decided to call a timeout with 4:30 remaining. By that point though it was too late and too big of a hole and then the C’s really were forced to start jacking up 3’s.
One of my biggest complaints, but it’s probably more about the league in general than the Celtics specifically, is there insistence on chucking threes even when they’re clearly not falling. Boston went 15-46 (32.6%) from 3 for the game, 4-22 from 3 in the 2nd half, and an atrocious 2-14 in the 4th. In the 4th the Celtics shot 37% from the field including 14.3% from 3. Meanwhile the Heat shot 66.7% from the field while only taking 3 three pointers in the 4th and nailing them all. For the game the Heat went 13-27 from 3 for a 48.1% clip, nearly 16% better than the C’s.
The Celtics never had an answer for Bam Adebayo all night. Daniel Theis fouled out again while getting worked by the “point center” and rookie Grant Williams probably did the best job covering the big man, but Bam was just on another level dropping 32 and 14.
I also want to point out that while I respect Jimmy Butler’s MJ-esque toxic competitive streak, I also would have been fully on board with Jaylen Brown getting ejected for knocking him out after that dirty play under the hoop.
No foul was called because the NBA officiating is hilariously inconsistent, but don’t let that fool you. This was a dirty, dangerous play and could have seriously injured Brown. Don’t be surprised if these two get into a scuffle down the line because I guarantee Brown will not forget about that play.
So where do the Celtics go from here? This is definitely a team at a crossroads with no clear path to improvement. Bench scoring is obviously a need, they need more defined roles, but more than anything the Celtics need to add some veteran grit and balls. Every great team has veteran players and character guys that can consistently get buckets and/or act as a mentor to younger teammates. Think Eddie House, James Posey, Sam Cassell, and PJ Brown on the ’08 Celtics. They need to add some grit to their bench rather than filling it with all their mediocre draft picks from the last 3 years who can’t create offense. Danny Ainge has created the greatest G League team ever assembled with all those draft picks, but that has not translated to consistent productive NBA players outside of Smart, Tatum, and Brown. Three core players no doubt, but the C’s have failed to develop much in the way of bench talent. That is only made more glaring when the C’s are getting lit up by rookies like Tyler Herro in Miami, who the C’s apparently loved pre-draft.
Grit seems to be the main thing they lacked this postseason as the Celtics routinely blew late leads only to get bailed out by the skin of their teeth on talent alone. Well that string of luck came to a swift end last night as the Heat showed them what a team with a lead is supposed to do. It steps on your neck and closes it out.
So do the Celtics looks to reconfigure their roster or just hope the deep playoff run provides valuable experience? Felger and Mazz producer Jimmy Stewart was floating rumors of a potential Marcus Smart trade last week if the C’s got bounced.
"I get the feeling that Marcus Smart might not be here next year." – @IAmJamesStewart after hearing from his mysterious sources.
Getting a W on Saturday night would help with a lot of this, but it sounds like a #Celtics power struggle is occurring between Smart, Brown, & Tatum. pic.twitter.com/UMpgsxpRFq
I think Tatum is completely untouchable at this point as he should be. He definitely needs some more seasoning to his game (stop routinely settling for fadeaway threes) and generally has some maturing to do, but you don’t trade elite talent for no reason.
Other than that they could move Jaylen Brown but I just cannot get on board with trading him or Smart. That would be a MASSIVE “addition by subtraction” gamble that I would not be willing to take and I dont think Danny Ainge would either.
There was speculation that the team lacked clearly defined roles and too many guys thought it was their team. Theres only one basketball and if everyone wants to play hero ball and take the last shot then you’re going to run into trouble.
It’s not a hot take but I think their best bet is to hope yet another brutal postseason exit helps their young core build the testicular fortitude required to make the jump next year. I keep thinking of that scene from “The Last Dance” documentary where Michael Jordan details how he got his brains beat in by the Celtics and Pistons for years before finally getting over the hump. Even with 6 rings on his fingers, Jordan admitted those early struggles were necessary to give him the experience and the drive to finally break through.
The most unfortunate part though is this was the easiest path to the Finals the Celtics were going to have any time soon with a depleted/dysfunctional Philly team, Giannis getting knocked out early, no Kawhi or LeBron in the East, oh ya and the Nets will be rolling out Kyrie and Kevin Fucking Durant next season. So while I want to preach patience, I can understand if Celtics brass doesn’t feel the same way.
We don’t even know when the next NBA season will begin thanks to the COVID interruption. Training camps for next season would have normally started around now, but Adam Silver has hinted at a Christmas or even January start for the 2020-21 season. Until then we’ll have plenty of missed opportunities to regret as we watch LeBron James inevitably win another title. Hopefully this Celtics team uses that as motivation and comes back ready to take over the East and finally, legitimately threaten for the Larry O’Brien trophy next year.
And just like that the Boston Celtics are one game away from elimination in the Eastern Conference Finals. One more underwhelming performance and the Celtics will be on the wrong end of a gentleman’s sweep. It’s infuriating to watch because before Game 4 the Celtics led for the large majority of minutes played only to blow leads late. Game 4 itself was just a sloppy game for Boston all around despite the near miracle comeback in the closing seconds.
Jayson Tatum was AWFUL in the first half going 0-6 including four three pointers to go into the half with zero points, which was the first time he’s done that all season. He must have found a bottle of Michael Jordan’s Secret Stuff from Space Jam in the locker room though as he dropped 28 points in the final 24 minutes of the game.
His explosion in the second half just made Tatum’s first half struggles look even worse by comparison though. He is arguably the most talented player in this series and he was constantly dribbling out the shot clock and settling for shitty fadeaway threes. So much so that the studio analysts at halftime wondered aloud if he was injured. Why is a 6’8″ career 83% free throw shooter not attacking the rim if his shot isn’t falling? That is something that Tatum needs to understand better if he is going to take the next jump to superstardom.
This team still struggles mightily against the zone defense that my high school team used to play. Marcus Smart seemed to be the only player capable of driving and effectively kicking the ball out to shooters. It was something that Van Gundy pointed out during the game as Smart was the only player that was looking at the rim as he drives before kicking it out. Otherwise the defenders are just waiting for the outlet pass. The Celtics have been rendered completely helpless against the most basic defense for long stretches of this series. The broadcast team even suggested this may be the longest a team has ever stuck with a zone defense in any playoff series ever. Ay caramba.
If not for Gordon Hayward this team would have already been en route to their offseason vacations. While he didn’t light up the stat sheet in Game 3 he was a tangible force moving the ball and making a couple clutch shots. In Game 4 he was much more comfortable shooting the ball as he finished with 14 points. Hayward is the only player the Celtics can bring off the bench to consistently get buckets at this point, which is killing them. The rest of the bench had 8 combined points on Wednesday night. In Game 3 the bench scored a combined 11 points outside of Hayward, a respectable 16 (9 from Kanter) in Game 2, and 18 in Game 1 with 11 from Brad Wanamaker.
Tyler Herro is a goddamn baller, plain and simple. To be honest, we probably should have expected this dude to become an assassin based solely on his Draft Night fit.
Allegedly Danny Ainge was set to take the Kentucky shooter at No. 14 in last year’s draft before Pat Riley snatched him up right before the Celtics at No. 13 overall. I don’t know if I believe that as Danny tends to draft project athletes with high ceilings more than shooters, but goddamnit has Herro made it hurt to watch what could have been. He absolutely crushed the Celtics in Game 4 with a cool 37 points and was generally unstoppable with a clean look.
Marcus Smart continues to be the ultimate enigma making incredible and boneheaded plays within seconds of each other. Like when he laid out onto the floor to knock a loose ball to Jaylen Brown, who was then fouled. The Celtics then inbounds the ball at half court and Smart gets the ball only to immediately lose his handle and turn the ball over.
The No. 1 most hated play of the night goes to the C’s doubling the ball handler late in the 4th and leaving Goran Dragic wide fucking open for a 3 on a night where he scored 22 points. And you could see on the replay that Smart thought Jaylen Brown was going to rotate and cover the shooter as he was visibly upset and clapping at the young forward.
The officiating was generally awful both ways, but hey Tony Brothers was on the court so did we expect anything less? I also don’t get the Hayward foul call on this three pointer from Goran. I know he is technically “in the shooter’s space” but jesus christ what’s he supposed to do there?
The final play of the game was also a disaster. Down 3 with 1 second remaining the Celtics were out of timeouts so it was kind of a fire drill hail mary play, but I still hated what they came up with. Needing a TB12-esque picture perfect throw the Celtics opt for center Daniel Theis to make the inbounds pass. I understand Theis isn’t really a 3 point threat there, but he’s also the worst passer on the floor being asked to make a pinpoint cross court pass with 1 second remaining. Not surprisingly he heaved one into traffic that never had a chance.
Is Bam Adebayo hurt? He was holding his wrist constantly in the last few minutes of the game after a collision with I believe Jaylen Brown under the hoop. He stayed in the game, but even the broadcast made note of how he was constantly waiving off the athletic trainers despite being in obvious pain. If Adebayo is injured that would be a huge factor in a do or die Game 5 as the Celtics have had no answers for the big man.
So the Celtics have an off night before Game 5 on Friday night to consider whether they have the fortitude required to push this series to the brink. They’ll need to win three straight against a Heat team that has been tough to beat when it comes to neck stepping time in the 4th quarter. If the Celtics bow out in five it would be a huge letdown, especially in a season where the path was seemingly cleared for them to reach the Finals. No Giannis, no Kawhi or LeBron in the East, just a scrappy Heat team led by a guy in Jimmy Butler that is on his fourth team in four years. After some serious collapses down the stretch and the much publicized blowout in the locker room after Game 2, if this team doesn’t make a series out of this I would not be surprised to see Danny make some tough decisions with the construction of this roster.
Until the final buzzer sounds though I’ll hold out hope just because we’ve seen crazier things happen. In times like this I like to think back to that infamous Kevin Millar quote back in 2004. “Don’t let us win today.”
“I admired him because his passion you rarely see someone who’s looking and trying to improve each and every day. Not just in sports but as a parent, as a husband. I am inspired by what he’s done and what he’s shared.”
Wow. Just an incredible eulogy from Michael Jordan honoring Kobe, whom he truly felt like a big brother towards. This memorial goes to show how Kobe was bigger than basketball; people truly loved him. This speech had everything. It had heart, emotion, anecdotes, and even some much needed humor.
MJ in tears says Kobe making him become another crying meme for three or four years. 💜💛🥺
Joey B and Red react to the news that LeBron James and Dwyane Wade will both have their kids transferring to the same high school to play ball together. Time really is a flat circle, huh?
Joey B: Hey Red,
To kick things off, where on the scale of Jonathan Moxon’s Dad – Stage Parents do Bron and Wade fall here in terms of winning vicariously through your, in this case, high school basketball player?
Red:
This is simply LeBron reading all of my criticisms of him and the NBA at large for its way too chummy AAU culture and doubling down on the death of competition. Where’s the killer instinct? Idk maybe its because I was always the smaller, less skilled, underdog on all my teams, but I would much rather be leading my hometown public high school to a state title than teaming up with a bunch of other rich kids to go 82-0. Its not like LeBron Jr. needs the exposure for recruiting either!
Joey B:
Ya you make a good point. What is there really to be gained by going undefeated and beating these teams with 6’1 Centers 148-26? It’s like Bron shot DWade a “hey know what’d be fun text?” text and DWade didn’t have the heart to say “…why?” (There was no way this was Wade’s idea).It’s insane that this concept has trickled down to H.S sports though. Whose next? Would you want to see Matt Stafford Jr. chuckin to Megatron III?
Red:
At least LeBron Jr. didn’t get completely cucked like his dad and transfer to D Wade’s son’s school. But this is how Hollywood became a thing. All the best of the best just moved to one part of the world and claimed it for themselves as the entertainment capital. Sounds great right? Except when it creates a gigantic bubble of entitlement and they’re all worse off for it. Learn some adversity guys, it’ll help you in the long run.
Joey B:
Haha totally. It’s almost like Lebron and Wade are becoming a two-headed Lavar Ball. Our sons are playing TOGETHER. In HIGH SCHOOL. Then in COLLEGE. Then in the NBA.
It would be hysteeeeeeerical if either/or/both didn’t pan out and they ended up on the fringes of Lithuanian professional basketball.
Red:
Man not to go off in a completely different tangent, but Lavar Ball is a FORCE of nature. The man just speaks things into existence. He predicted his son would get drafted by the Lakers, he predicted on Colin Cowherd’s show the dumpster fire we’re seeing with Magic and the Lakers now, and he even had me believing all three sons would play in the NBA together. Well once the Big Baller Brand shoe company imploded I had to take a step back, but you just know Lavar will not stop. As a marketing man, I respect it.
Anyways, way to put mountains of pressure on your kids guys. I don’t really know how good these kids are supposed to be so I could be totally wrong here, but just look at Michael Jordan’s son, who’s name is Jeffrey Michael Jordan by the way because MJ is a fucking psychopath. He played at Central Florida and was never going to live up to his dad’s legacy, but at least MJ didn’t shine a goddamn light on the kid just waiting for him to fail in front of millions of people.
Joey B:
Lavar Ball is a categorical piece of shit. /thread.
But in general, even if the kids are supported and nurtured in the right way, imagine the pressure. I mean look what happened to Vince Wilfork’s kid (not linking to it out of respect, you have google). Even if the parent does everything right, if they were a fucking superstar it cannot be easy trying to grow and thrive in that shadow. Hence why really not a lot of start athlete’s kids have made it.
I can think of Prince Fielder and the Long brothers….and that’s it. Kind of a startling statistic.
Red:
I’ve read rumors about how LeBron wants to play until he’s 40 because it would give him the opportunity to play with his son, assuming he’s actually good enough to reach the league. Sort of like Ken Griffey Sr. playing with Ken Griffey Jr. and hitting back to back bombs. I’m not a huge LeBron fan obviously, but it would be pretty cool to see an old ass LeBron Sr. throwing an alley oop dunk up for LeBron Jr.
Joey B:
Yaaaa I can’t stand him and even I have to admit that’d be pretty cool.
Speaking of which zero percent chance Vlad Jr.’s team couldn’t do with a cannon armed outfielder off the bench. Maybe Sr. can’t hit anymore but they still could be on the field at the same time COME ON.
Red:
Love Vlad, but he aged like a can of beer in my trunk. Guy was hobbling around like he was on stilts by his early 30s.
TLDR; Moral of the blog? Have professional athletes for parents and you’re golden!
CBS NEWS – There’s a new wrinkle in the LeBron-Jordan debate: Who will be the more beloved Tune Squad star? On Wednesday, James and his production company, SpringHill Entertainment, announced a sequel to 1996’s “Space Jam,” one that boasts an all-star team: Ryan Coogler of “Black Panther” is set to produce the film, James will star and Terence Nance of “Random Acts of Flyness” will serve as director.
It’s James’ first starring role in a film. The Lakers superstar had a well-liked part playing himself in “Trainwreck” opposite Amy Schumer. He told the Hollywood Reporter that he “loved [Coogler’s] vision” for “Black Panther” and believes the director will bring the same magic to “Space Jam.
The original Space Jam wasn’t nominated for any Academy Awards, but it is the highest grossing basketball film of all time. It was a solid kids movie and is fondly remembered by people who saw it when they were kids. I’ll stop to watch a few scenes whenever I see it pop up on cable, and I know I have the Space Jam soundtrack CD somewhere at my parents’ house. Even more than 20 years after its theatrical release, I still see Tune Squad jerseys at college basketball games from time to time.
With Ryan Coogler on board for the reboot, though, the next Space Jam will aspire to be more than just a commercially-viable kids basketball movie. Coogler is on fire right now, and although he’ll be producing rather than directing Space Jam, the last three films he directed were all huge critical successes. Fruitvale Station, Creed and Black Panther are all incredible movies.
Space Jam 2 will also feature LeBron James in his first starring role. James isn’t an actor or a singer, but he’s still one of the biggest stars in the world. He was really likable in Trainwreck and it’s hard to imagine anyone, outside of maybe a few Celtics fans, who will question that he’s the right person for this role. It’d be great to see Michael Jordan come back one way or another and settle the GOAT debate with James, even if just in jest, but there’s probably a better chance of Michael B. Jordan showing up.
It sounds like Space Jam 2 will follow a similar formula as the original, but don’t be surprised if it’s a little less slapstick and aimed at adults as much as it is at kids. At least as much as Bugs Bunny cartoon can be aimed at adults.
“Joe Montana is officially back in the spot of the greatest QB of all time. He is the GOAT — 4-0, 11 TDs, 0 INTs, 3 MVPs… With this loss now, Brady is out of the conversation.” — @RobParkerFS1pic.twitter.com/I0GkpZKvGU
What’s worse: listening to Brady fans trying to convince people that 5-3 is better than perfection at 4-0 or listening to LeBron fans trying to convince people that 3-5 is better than perfection at 6-0.
Montana – 4-0 in Super Bowl.
Jordan – 6-0 in NBA Finals.#nodebate
Mr. Parker, what you’ve just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul.
Honest to Christ, who could actually believe what Rob Parker said? How could Parker himself actually believe what he said? Had Tom Brady played like garbage in the Super Bowl maybe Parker could argue that his legacy took a hit. But Brady didn’t play like garbage. He actually played his best Super Bowl and had the best postseason of his career. After being named the league’s Most Valuable Player. At age 40. So give it a rest, Rob.
And by the way, Rob, no one is arguing that LeBron James has been better in the NBA Finals than Michael Jordan was. No one. But if LeBron can find a way to win three titles at the end of his career the way Jordan did, I will be the first in line to argue that 6-5 in the NBA Finals is better than 6-0. Why the hell should Jordan get bonus points for getting bounced in earlier rounds?
Same goes for Joe Montana. Brady has played in eight Super Bowls and has gone one-and-done in the playoffs twice. Montana appeared in four Super Bowls and went one-and-done in the playoffs four times. Outside of Super Bowls, Brady is 22-7 in the playoffs. Montana is 12-7. We’re gonna take off points because Brady won more games, put his team on his back more often, and lost Super Bowls that no other quarterback could get even get their team tickets to?
Doug Gottlieb is right – a win on Sunday won’t put Tom Brady ahead of Michael Jordan in the “greatest of all time” discussion. That’s because Brady is already ahead of him. A win on Sunday just puts Jordan further Brady’s rear view mirror.
As of today Jordan has six rings and Brady has five, but Brady’s five rings are far more impressive. Only one other person has five Super Bowl rings as a player, and that’s Charles Haley. Haley won two rings in the second half of the 49ers Montana dynasty and added three more with the Cowboys dynasty of the early 1990s. Haley is a college and pro-football hall of famer but certainly not a household name. Nine men have more NBA championship rings than Jordan. Of course Bill Russell leads that group with 11, but that group also includes Robert Horry who has seven. I don’t hear anyone bringing up his name in the G.O.A.T. discussion. With a win on Sunday Brady will have more rings than anyone else who ever played his sport, and that’s something Jordan will never be able to claim.
Brady’s detractors will point out that he went almost a decade without a championship. That’s a fair point and something I’ve pondered as well. Jordan never had a championship drought that long, but it did take him seven seasons to win his first ring. After that it was six in eight years. While Jordan dominated the 1990s, like Montana dominated the NFL in the 1980s, Brady has been a force in the NFL for two decades. Winning championships 15, and maybe 16, years apart speaks volumes about the length of Brady’s reign compared to the length of Jordan’s reign.
As I briefly touched on last week, I wonder how much of Brady’s championship drought had to do with the constant turnover of offensive and defensive coordinators in Foxboro. The Patriots First Triumvirate of Bill Belichick, Charlie Weis and Romeo Crennel was together from 2001-2005 and won three championships in four years. The Patriots Second Triumvirate of Belichick, Josh McDaniels and Matt Patricia has been in place since 2012 and now also has a chance of winning three championships in four years.
However, I also wonder how much of Brady’s championship drought had to do with the stiff competition of his era. Brady’s record in the postseason is 27-9. Of those nine losses, three came against Peyton Manning and two came against Eli Manning. Two more came against a legendary Baltimore defense. When Brady has lost in the postseason, it has usually been to all-time great quarterback, team or coach. But, Brady has also had his fair share of playoff wins against all-time great quarterbacks and teams.
The same can’t be said about Jordan. Sure, Jordan never lost in the NBA Finals, but do we award bonus points for him never being able to get by Boston’s Big Three? Or for taking four tries to get past Detroit’s Bad Boys? Jordan also never beat a team in the finals that would later go on to win a championship.
Jordan’s first championship came against the Lakers in the final year of Magic Johnson’s career (his 1996 comeback excluded). The Lakers got swept in the finals by the Bad Boy Pistons two years earlier, and wouldn’t win a championship as a franchise again until 2000 with Shaq and Kobe. Other than that, Jordan beat the Portland Trailblazers, Phoenix Suns, Seattle SuperSonics and Utah Jazz (twice) in the NBA Finals. Those four teams have won a combined two NBA titles, both in the 1970s before Michael Jordan even enrolled at the University of North Carolina. Goliaths they were not.
In a sport such as football, with the specialization required for each position, it’s tough to say that Brady, or anyone for that matter, is the greatest football player of all time. He is without a doubt the greatest quarterback, though. In basketball it’s a little bit easier, but Jordan never had to play against Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain or LeBron James. Even if you consider Jordan the greatest basketball player, though, Brady is so much further ahead of the rest of his field that I can’t see how Brady can’t rightfully claim the title of G.O.A.T.
I don’t think I’ve ever needed something as badly as I need these video game sneakers. So FreakerSneaks makes all these custom Jordans and they are so choice. They got all the classics like NBA Jam, Super Mario, Duck Hunt, and Sonic. There’s stunting on people and then there’s stunting on people in totally custom NBA Jam Jordans. $1,200? Swipe swipe. So slap these on my Christmas list today mom and dad. Just look at the details though, they even have the championship screen shot on the tongue.
But lets not forget some of the other beauties like the Jordan Sonic: Marble Zone 1. If these kicks don’t take you right back to the glory days of playing Sega in the basement then I don’t even want to know you.
And of course you can’t forget the true classics, the godfather of modern video games, the plumber himself; Super Mario.
On to the best of the rest:
Somebody get me a goddamn sneaker deal!
PS – If I were to design my own pair of these I would 100% have to call them the Jordan Super Nintendo Chalmers 1.
SB Nation – It’s official: Tim Tebow is a professional baseball player, and he didn’t even have to sign with an independent league team to get there. The Mets made him a member of their organization by announcing a deal on Thursday morning, and Tebow’s next step will be to head to Instructional League in — where else — Florida.
Now I love Tim Tebow, but this guy has got to be suicidal. Signing with a New York team. Again. I know he probably wasn’t fielding a dozen offers, but you would think if you really want to make this work you may want to limit distractions or you know, horribly negative fans chirping you all day. Especially after already playing in NY once for the Jets. And that was an unmitigated disaster.
Maybe he’s a glutton for punishment, or maybe he really does just enjoy the limelight and wanted to be as close to the action as possible. Well, that should wear off after the 5th 9 hour long bus ride. Just watch that Michael Jordan 30 for 30 and you’ll be over it real quick. Best athlete of our generation and he barely hit over the Mendoza line.
Or you could ya know play fullback or something and be playing in the NFL every single week. Won’t switch positions, but I will switch sports. Hey, at least I can add to my collection of Tebow jerseys that I buy at Marshalls for $8 in a few months. Still got the Tebow Patriots shirt in rotation. Collector’s item.
The 300s 