TheComeback- The Junior League World Series softball tournament, an annual tournament featuring the best teams of girls aged 12 to 15 from around the world, overturned the results of a semifinal game this weekend thanks to players on the winning team extending their middle fingers in a Snapchat post. The Atlee Little League team from Virginia beat the host team from Kirkland, Washington 1-0 Friday in a controversial semifinal, which saw a Kirkland player and coach ejected for stealing signals. An Atlee player then posted a team picture to Snapchat with six players extending their middle fingers and a “watch out host” caption, and the Little League International Tournament Committee then removed them from the championship game Saturday, promoting Kirkland instead (who promptly lost 7-1 to the Central region team from Poland, Ohio, in a game televised on ESPN2). Here’s the statement on their decision, via The Richmond Times-Dispatch:
In response to a request from the Richmond Times-Dispatch, Little League spokesman Kevin Fountain issued the following statement: “After discovering a recent inappropriate social media post involving members of Atlee Little League’s Junior League Softball tournament team, the Little League® International Tournament Committee has removed the Southeast Region from the 2017 Junior League Softball World Series for violation of Little League’s policies regarding unsportsmanlike conduct, inappropriate use of social media, and the high standard that Little League International holds for all its participants.” ----- For as mind-numbingly stupid and astonishingly hypocritical as it is of adults to retroactively reverse the result of a youth playoff game due to nothing that took place during said youth playoff game, it's also quite refreshing to see a sport governed with consistency throughout all the levels it's played. Say what you want about overreacting to a hand gesture that everyone with a driver's license uses at least 2-3 times per week, but don't say that the self-important values of those supervising a baseball diamond of any size aren't persistently ass backwards from Little League Softball to Major League Baseball. When I think of out-of-whack priorities I think of the sport whose record books were rewritten by steroid users that could hit 70 home runs without suspicion, but couldn't show any emotion after those home runs without having a fastball thrown at their jugular. That's why it's good to see the Junior League place the losing, undeserving team that stole signs in it's World Series ahead of girls that won fair, but whose harmlessly explicit celebration was far from square. What better way to send the message that it's okay to cheat as long as you don't hurt your opponent's delicate wittle feelings in the process? This misguided decision would reek of sanctimonious bullshit in any other form of athletic competition, but somehow it seems like a fitting form of discipline for a sport that historically takes itself far too seriously. In all seriousness, it's absolutely befuddling that someone could be hired to supervise today's youth while having such an obvious disconnect with today's youth. Giving the finger on SnapChat is probably the least punishable thing those girls have done (on or off social media) in 2017. I know this might be a tough concept for Kevin Fountain to understand, but the 12-15 year olds of today need to be treated like the 17-19 year olds of yesteryear. He's genuinely lucky they still participate in youth sports, because it means they somehow shook off the allure of recreational drugs and sexual experimentation. If the worst thing my hypothetical daughter has done halfway through high school is whoop some hometown ass before rubbing her opponent's noses in shit by throwing up some "fuck y'all" fingers on the internet then I'd buy her whole squad booze and tell them to hit the basement while I started my campaign for 'Father Of The Year'. So maybe - just maybe - it might be time to lower that inexplicably "high standard" for pubescent, teenage athletes Kev, because there's some more satisfying bases to round if they end up quitting softball because they got fucked out of their chance to win a championship.
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Mark Cuban -
“I don’t know what his status is in the NFL, but I’m glad the NBA doesn’t have a politician litmus test for our players. I’d like to think we encourage our players to exercise their constitutional rights. The NBA is such a global game, I think our players exposure to different political systems among their teammates may help them appreciate our country even more and encourage their participation.” Jeff Van Gundy - “Commissioner Silver embraces all kinds of different ways of thinking. I think he encourages activism. And because of that, I believe, some of our players in the NBA feel very empowered to speak their mind. That’s healthy that we embrace different thoughts. You can agree with Kaepernick, you can disagree with Kaepernick, but what I don’t think you should believe is that he doesn’t have the right or he should be muzzled in any way.” ------ What's sad is that the only thing that's newsworthy about these quotes is that there aren't at all newsworthy. I don't think there is a skill set that the NBA values as highly as the NFL values the ability to play quarterback, but you can bet your ass that Colin Kaepernick wouldn't be long for the unemployment line if he could hit open threes as well as he can hit open receivers. To think otherwise would require such a way of thinking so disjointed that it could give Roger Goodell's moral code a run for it's money. We are talking about an Association whose owners allowed some of their most prominent players to take a much more direct and far less inconspicuous jab at the police force by wearing "I Can't Breathe" tee-shirts in the the most public of forums. Something tells me it wouldn't take them to long to get over a peaceful protest that ultimately started the conversation that has scared at least a couple cowardly NFL executives away from improving their team at it's most important position. Now, analyzing the NFL through the same lens as the NBA is a bit disingenuous, because - despite holding some very matchable cards - it's not exactly an 'Apples To Apples' comparison. Professional basketball's popularity is at the mercy of a select few players whose personalities and opinions make them a much bigger draw to the casual fan. The same can't be said for a league whose success is dependent on largely replaceable talent. With how many foreign players are currently contributing to the NBA's multi-cultural landscape, it's in Adam Silver's best interest to be the most progressive commissioner in professional sports. The same can't be said of the jackass in charge of the league whose attempts to expand international interest overseas have been limited to largely unwatchable match-ups that are hosted on a playing surface that makes your rich friend's backyard look like a more suitable venue. Still, it seems stunning that two leagues that are predominantly run by elderly white men and predominantly employ black athletes hold such bi-polar views on letting those athletes express themselves. I know that the NFL's viewership is much more...uhh...conservative, but it's also big enough to withstand the loss of the select few stubborn assholes that love 'Murica so much that they would stop watching football on behalf of an honorary, inanimate piece of cloth. Proportionally speaking, an NBA team would stand to lose just as much as an NFL team would by signing Colin Kaepernick. Just don't think for a goddamn second that would stop said hypothetical NBA team from bolstering it's bench with the addition of an unjustly polarizing figure whose resume warrants a roster spot.
FTW- Usain Bolt had not lost in a decade, and with such consistent dominance over the rest of the sprinting field, it was assumed the Jamaican runner would cruise to his 12th world championship and win his last 100-meter race before retiring.
But not only did Bolt lose, he finished third to Americans Justin Gatlin and Christian Coleman in a shocking upset and sour end to the GOAT’s career. ---- And in an unexpected - if not ironic - turn of events, life has finally gotten it's revenge on Usain Bolt. It got it's chance to come at him fast after he had spent the vast majority of his career casually cruising through it with the quickness of a coked up gazelle with a rocket up it's ass, and it most certainly did not disappoint. Seriously, is there a better example of just how difficult it is to go out on top than the superhuman athlete that's been making fellow Olympians look "Special" since George W. was in office losing (likely) the last individual race of his career? When we talk about aging stars on the downside of their career we usually euphemistically say that they have "lost a step". When you consider that Usain Bolt set the 100M record at 9.52 in 2009 and got handed a bronze medal (that might as well be a novelty penny relative to his current trophy case) for strolling in at 9.95, he quite literally went from the top of the world to the bottom of the podium with the slightest of downticks in foot speed. The same guy that was literally smiling in the rearview during the heat of the best competition in the universe less than a year ago is going to bow out as something we never thought we'd refer to him as...a mortal. I know the tone of this thus far has come across as vengeful, but that's simply symbolic of just how unforgiving the combination of age and athletics can be. Sure, (as the following photo showcases) this result serves as a metaphorical passing of the baton to the next generation of sprinters. However, it also serves as a reminder that 'Father Time' has a twisted sense of humor and would make a hell of a distance runner because he's guaranteed to catch up to you at the end if you give him enough of his namesake.
Swagger? Cockiness? Who the hell are those guys in the black jerseys, and what the hell has Defensive Backs Coach Aaron Glenn done with the New Orleans Saints' actual secondary? Look, I don't know if being encouraged to spike the ball right in the offense's stupid face after pass breakups is the motivation the defense needs to do to inject some confidence into their game, but I'll be damned if I'm not enjoying the intensity being displayed on both sides of the ball nonetheless. Curtis Johnson all-too-predictably already has a group of receivers that were a bit of a question mark as of a week ago outperforming expectations. If stopping them requires a little shit talking and some unsportsmanlike braggadocio then all the power to the corners and safeties whose improvement is absolutely necessary if the Saints want to be worth a damn this season. Honestly, I can't tell which position group is benefiting more from the definitive, conscious effort to spark the competitive flames. However, I can say it's making for some entertaining clips that are nothing but encouraging to a fanbase that has become far too accustomed to watching defensive backs hang their heads in shame after failing to turn them the fuck around to locate the ball. The only thing that's more fun than a good chirp is earning the right to use it, and it appears that's exactly the mindset that Aaron Glenn is passionately trying to instill in his unit. P.S. Michael Thomas...still very, very good...
LBS- According to Omalu, the focus on CTE is misguided, as former players will still have brain damage even if it does not manifest itself as CTE.
“There has been so much fascination with CTE that we are going the wrong way,” Omalu said, via Kevin Seifert of ESPN. “CTE is just one disease in a spectrum of many diseases caused by brain trauma. If he doesn’t have CTE, that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have brain damage. … I’ve always said that every child who plays football has a 100 percent risk of exposure to brain damage. And I’ve always said that at a professional level, 100 percent would have brain damage of some kind to some degree. That’s whether or not their brains are found to have CTE.” “There is no such thing as a safe blow to the head,” Omalu said. “And then when you have repeated blows to your head, it increases the risk of permanent brain damage. Once you start having hundreds or thousands of blows, there is a 100 percent risk of exposure to permanent brain damage. The brain does not have a reasonable capacity to regenerate. This is something we have always known.” ------- Bennet Omalu makes an excellent point that should probably also be considered a pretty obvious one. Of course a football player can have his long term well being and quality of life compromised by repetitive blows to the head, even if those repetitive blows to the head don't inevitably cause severe brain deterioration that forces said player to become a complete shell of his former self. It shouldn't be a surprise that the 389th time your brain rattles around in your skull doesn't take you from being a picture of perfect health to an absolute basket case that is liable to forget your own address. Unfortunately for Dr. Omalu, that's not how the minds of football fans without PhD's operate. To be quite honest, he's lucky that we* finally started to acknowledge that concussions can cause CTE, and I'm pretty sure that's only because that diagnosis is three letters long and rolls off the tongue. I - to this day - don't remember what it stands for off the top of my head, so he damn well better think of some more clever acronyms for lesser conditions if he wants me to start differentiating between the severity of head injuries. Clashing skulls with some of the biggest, strongest, and fastest athletes on the planet is obviously never going to be good for you. However - with how much this country loves it's football - were not always going to fully accept how insanely bad it is for you unless you stay down for an exorbitant amount of time with a worsening condition whose name is easy to recall. The man definitely tells the truuf when speaking to the varying, yet ever-present levels of brain trauma in football players, but - sadly - he shouldn't expect us to listen unless it's undeniable to the naked eye. * "We" being those of us that don't make billions of dollars of a league that lies right in the face of every statistic that proves just how inherently dangerous it's product is. WacoTribune- Over the past year, Sam Ukwuachu has sent more than a dozen emails to two Tribune-Herald reporters about his sexual assault case and resulting media coverage.
Ukwuachu repeatedly has claimed he will disprove his alleged victim’s testimony and file suit against McLennan County prosecutors. “So you know why they really overturned my conviction?” Ukwuachu wrote to the Tribune-Herald on May 17 of this year. “Because these p– — ass prosecutors cheated and lied to win their conviction. That’s why their punk asses are about to get sued into the ground. You’re a f—ing loser and a f—– for writing bulls—.” He also complained about coverage of [former Baylor head coach Art] Briles and the batch of Title IX lawsuits filed against Baylor. “Keep writing bulls—- about my former coach (Briles) you peice (sic) of s—,” Ukwuachu continued. “You will be apologizing when you find out that he is innocent. … These lawsuits are nothing but money grabs and these allegations against (Baylor) piled up after I got f—– over … I will show the world.” ------- Not going to lie, Sam Ukwuachu is one smooth son of a bitch. He almost - almost - convinced me that he wasn't actually guilty of sexual assault. Don't get me wrong, the overturned conviction in a community that has convinced itself that football is more important than the safety of 18-22 year old females did absolutely nothing to sway me. Waco, Texas is basically the polar opposite of Manitowoc County, Wisconsin because the only murderer they are making is one that is capable of killing opponent's scoring drives when not participating in team bonding activities like non-consensual group sex. That's why it was ingenious of Sam Ukwuachu to take it upon himself, reach out to the local newspaper, and solidify his side of the story. After all, nothing says "not guilty" quite like monthly hate-fueled, expletive-laced rants. That's the type of defense that even the most skeptical party will feel inclined to believe. The person that feels it necessary to protest their innocence at every turn by way of incessant profanity, mild harassment, and empty threats is the person whose conscience is undoubtedly the most clean. There's a reason the saying is goes "the lady doth protest too much", and it's because men never dig themselves into deeper holes by outright refusing to shut the fuck up. Unfortunately, Sam Ukwuachu made one critical mistake in his plea for fair coverage from the media. He stood behind his former head coach that basically oversaw a rampant ring of rape. By standing up for Art Briles he essentially went from calling one sexual assault allegation false to calling 53 sexual assault allegations (and a slew of other crimes) false, which pretty much leads me to believe that he doesn't have the slightest clue as to what constitutes sexual assault. I'm not saying that he doesn't truly believe he's innocent, because I think Baylor's interpretation of the law is wee bit different than that of society's. I am saying that he's not at liberty to claim "not guilty" if he thinks the University that is one unsolicited ass grab away from the death penalty is completely free of indiscretion.
"Ball 4...ball 8...annnnd Robles has walked the Mets' into the loss column with 12 errant pitches!" I know they say life imitates art, but whoever came up with that saying probably never thought that said "art" would be a hilarious sports parody that's meant to exaggerate the laughable struggles of a fictional ex-con of a pitcher on a complete clusterfuck of a team. I actually appreciate that Hansel Robles went full 'Wild Thing', because any day I can slip a 'Major League' reference into my writing is a good day, but - man, oh man - are the strikingly strike-less similarities between yesterday's bottom of the 9th and this clip an indictment of the current state of the Mets.... (starts at 50 seconds) If you want to look on the eerily dim bright side then that's probably the best way to walk in a walk off. You probably shouldn't aim to give the other team a win with three straight bases on balls, but if that's how you want to play it then it's best to really punctuate the loss with a goddamn laser beam to the backstop. If you're going to take an 'L' in incompetent fashion then take an 'L' in incompetent fashion with authority. Those fans behind the plate had to at least flinch before they got to celebrate, and that wouldn't have been possible if the game ended on a measly breaking ball that apathetically dropped into the dirt. Sadly, the moral victory of ever-so-slightly postponing the excitement of opposing fans is one of the biggest victories the Mets' have had all season.
A lot of people are going to treat this news as further proof that Frank Clark is a loose cannon and can't be trusted to control his emotions or regulate his rage, but can we at least give the guy a little credit for firing at more appropriate targets. Jumping in the air to punch your defenseless teammate directly in face like you're going for the fatality in 'Mortal Kombat' probably wasn't the wisest of decisions, but it doesn't seem all that unforgivable relative to the rest of his track record. I think what people need to realize is that the player in question - despite being a professional athlete in his mid-20's - is basically an overgrown kid. If you view him as the man-child that he is then it's pretty commendable that he took his scolding literally when people told him to pick on someone his own size. There's still some work to be done since he's still tip-toeing the thin line between "competitive frustration" and "assault", but he's come a long way from beating up his girlfriend and publicly threatening any female that reported on it...
Keeping his misconduct in-house might merely - and ironically - be a baby step in the right direction, but isn't that the best we could have hoped for from a guy whose proven to have the unpredictable temperament of an toddler. It might not seem like someone who just interrupted practice by bloodying his own teammate has made progress in channeling his aggression. However - considering this story probably won't make the nightly news outside of Seattle - I think he's done a hell of a job cutting the cable, so to speak, on criminal activity that can't be considered an occupational hazard. He might be a danger to the ever-combustable chemistry of the Seahawks locker room, but that's an improvement from being a danger to society! Honestly, any transgression that doesn't require him to publicly apologize is a 'W' in my book, because he might be worse at sounding genuinely remorseful than he is at improving his reputation...
I don't want to make it sound like this wasn't completely and utterly humiliating, because it very much is. It's just an inherently embarrassing situation anytime a pitch simultaneously takes you to the ground while getting called a strike, never mind when it's punches you out and leaves you lying one misstep from the stands. Now, that said, if you're going to made to look like the super nervous kid whose parents forced him to keep playing past tee-ball by selling out and literally running away from the big, scary ball then you might as well make the process last so long that it outlasts the ever-shortening memory of millennials. Seriously, by the time Xavier Avery hit the grass I had almost forgotten that he struck out with a runner in scoring position. My mind had been completely taken away from the fact that there was a baseball game going on by the sheer amazement of how far he has able to run without any control of his upper or lower body. Hell, he made it so far that you could have mistaken that check swing for an attempt to check out of the stadium. It looked like he was getting booed at 'The Apollo' and the guy with the cane ran out to the batter's box and dragged him away from the plate by his neck. The sheer physics of half swinging a bat and having your momentum run you 15 yards back like your ass was magnetized to the backstop is the story here, and that's pretty incredible considering how stupid the batter ended up looking. Honestly, I'm not even sure you could call that a strikeout, because it looked more like an opt-out to me. It's almost like he got halfway through his swing and said to himself "fuck this shit, minor league baseball isn't for me". For the scoring at home, draw in a mini white flag instead of a 'K', because that was a forfeiture of an at-bat if I have ever seen one. Uproxx- However, that won’t be the case thanks to some very petty Saints fans. New Orleans and Atlanta have the biggest professional football rivalry south of the Mason-Dixon line, and the failures of the other team bring about as much joy to fans as their own teams’ successes. So, it should come as no surprise that it would be a group of Saints fans plan on purchasing a billboard near the new Falcons stadium that will prominently display the 28-3 score that is so seared into Falcons fans’ minds.
It’s a simple billboard, as you can see from their rendering from Dirty Coast, a T-shirt company based out of New Orleans that is leading the effort to put up the billboard — and is selling t-shirts with the same 28-3 design. They have apparently managed to find a billboard company willing to sell it to them in Atlanta, at the cost of $1,000 a week, and they’re taking $10 donations from Saints fans to keep it up for as long as they can to ensure that the pain doesn’t go away any time soon. ----- Full disclosure? Even as a devout hater of all things associated with the Atlanta Falcons, I must begrudgingly admit that I have already grown weary of the '28-3' jokes. It's disappointing, because losing a Super Bowl in which you led by TWENTY-FIVE points with 2:12 in the third quarter requires such a historically apocalyptic collapse that no rival fan should ever find himself (or herself) immune to it's hilarity. Unfortunately, the internet knows no bounds when it comes to beating a horse as dead as what now lies behind Matt Ryan's eyes, so I am stuck with that "enough already" feeling every time someone acknowledges an ironic placement of the number 25. That being said, I am so in favor of this billboard that I might even break out the credit card and follow through on contributing to a good cause instead of just saying "I promise I'll do it later" for months on end. As if the Atlanta Falcons aren't already at risk of succumbing to a Super Bowl hangover that would have Frank Gallagher feeling shameful. Can you imagine having to drive by the memory of your worst nightmare coming to fruition on a daily basis all because a local billboard company sold you out for a measly $1,000/week?!? Never mind the humor angle. This bad boy needs to stay up all season just to remind Atlanta that they are an inferior sports city that will inevitably need to pipe artificial crowd noise into their obnoxious new stadium - that was built on the strength of their 'Napoleon's Complex' - just to make it look like their fans give a shit. I'm willing to sacrifice the eyes that will undoubtedly roll back into my head forever the next time I hear a played out "get it...25" reference just to kick the organization whose failure it mocks while they are down. At this point in the offseason I'm more concerned with the Saints' success than the Falcons failures, but - shit - why not donate on the off-chance I get both while literally and figuratively holding it over the heads of Atlanta's half-assed fans?
You know, if I wanted to go the lazy route I could talk about how this clip (as well as Blake Bortles literal handful of interceptions during Saturday's practice) is a preview for what has the looks of another complete whiff of a season for the Jacksonville Jaguars. Doing so, however, would be disingenuous, because bloopers like this surely occur every so often at every training camp throughout the entire league. What makes this particular swing and a miss so hysterically telling is a beat writer actually catching it on camera in just about the highest definition possible. Nothing says more about the Jaguars expectations than a person breaking out their phone and focusing closely on a random, otherwise insignificant warmup drill because they instinctually have a funny feeling that something is going to go disastrously wrong when a professional athlete tries to push a stationary sled. Sheldon Day (#92) probably isn't the first guy to almost up-end a coach while getting dummied by a dummy but he's one of the first to have a video of it posted to the internet, because even the local media knows that the Jacksonville Jaguars' organization is run under Murphy's Law.
PFT- Former NFL quarterback Kordell Stewart offered Colin Kaepernick similar advice Ray Lewis did a day earlier: Keep quiet about social activism.
“Right now he’s not giving himself a chance,” Stewart said, via NFL No Huddle on TuneIn with Brian Webber. “I don’t think it’s the owners; I think it’s more or less Colin Kaepernick in my mind. Stay off of social media, and when it comes to the political side of everything, you can express yourself, you can do it quietly. I mean people are looking for former athletes and athletes out there doing some things that can be headline news. Do it from a charitable standpoint. Stay low-key about it. You don’t have to be so [loud], especially in this world of politics in the game of football." “You see what’s taking place with him right now. He’s not even getting a chance to play and he’s better than 90 percent plus of the backups playing in the National Football League, let alone some starters that are playing right now.” ------- I don't really want to delve into the factors that are currently keeping Colin Kaepernick out of a job that he is more than qualified for because - at this point - they have been discussed here, there, and everywhere ad nauseam. Still, it would be a disservice for me not to mention that last night seems like a weird time for Kordell Stewart to make the proclamation that his unemployment has nothing to do with ownership when this was the hottest of topics as of yesterday morning...
Now, I don't particularly care that a former NFL quarterback spewed absolute nonsense in the wake of a news break that had already proven him wrong. It just makes me wonder when the qualifications for giving advice changed so drastically. Granted, I would rather take life lessons from Kordell Stewart than Ray Lewis and Mike Vick, but I would prefer to take guidance from someone that speaks from experience and there's no more than a couple athletes walking the planet that have fallen victim in the way Colin Kaepernick has. There's no jackass analyst that should be telling him how to conduct himself, because there's no jackass analyst that has been shunned as "unAmerican" for doing something as American as trying to bring awareness to an obvious social injustice. I wouldn't want sex tips from a virgin, I wouldn't want a drink suggestion from a Mormon bartender, and - if my job was at risk for taking a knee on behalf of human rights - I certainly wouldn't want career advice from someone whose entire career wasn't jeopardized by a peaceful protest. Kordell Stewart might as well be on set babbling about what's it like be white in America, because he's spent just as much time as a caucasian as he has a martyr. Never mind that Colin Kaepernick has predominantly done his charitable work behind-the-scenes and outside of the public eye, thus making Kordell Stewart's point completely moot. The truth is, I'm just as annoyed by an ill-informed ex-NFLer's decision to give advice as I am by the fact that his advice absolutely fucking sucks. TheBigLead- Sam Miller did not make the best choices over the weekend. The forward on Dayton’s basketball team was arrested for public intoxication, underage consumption and disorderly conduct at 1:21 a.m. on Sunday. Then things got much worse for the 20-year-old.
Miller was taken to a holding cell at the local jail where he proceeded to urinate on the floor. But he wasn’t done. Miller then walked over to another inmate and slapped him. That inmate, John Watkins Jr., turned the tables on Miller, landing several vicious punches in retaliation, and knocked him out. ----- Look, I don't know Sam Miller. Maybe he's just a run-of-the-mill college kid that had far too many shots and his show of belligerence was a rare, out-of-character occurrence that was enabled by the pressuring of his good buddy (and bad influence) Jack Daniels. We have all woken up with a massive hangover wondering "what in the fuck was I thinking?!?", so I don't want to be too, too harsh of a critic here. Unfortunately, I have to be. You see, in all my years of drinking heavily I have never gotten detained by police, only to strip down to my boxers, pee on the floor, and start an unnecessary fight with a goddamn inmate. Therefore I have no choice but to believe that Sam Miller's beer muscles were aided by the intoxication enhancing drug that is undeserved cockiness. I suppose it's entirely possible that he's always been an entitled douchebag, but I have reason (common sense) to believe that that the dealer of that drug - the D1 school that gave him a full ride for being tall with mediocre basketball skills - had him feeling like he and his jaw were untouchable. Perhaps that flurry of fists were exactly what this Dayton Flyer needed to realize that he averaged 3.2 points and nearly as many turnovers as rebounds per game in the A10. Maybe that cold, hard floor of a holding cell served him a cold, hard dose of reality that all college athletes aren't created equal. Then again, maybe all it did was make him say "I'm never drinking again" for the next two days, but that's at least two days in which a bench player won't be using his false confidence to run roughshod through campus like he owns the place. ESPN- At first, he was just a teenager, an ocean away from home in a culture he didn’t understand. For example, Darko would go home to shower after practices or games instead of staying in the locker room to clean up; he didn’t realize that in America, the players all showered together.
“So I had to teach Darko,” says Chauncey Billups, who played in Detroit from 2002-08, “like, no, when we’re done playing, when we’re done practicing, you put your towel on and you go get in the shower. That’s what we do here.” ------- Obviously there's a lot of steps that a complete bust of a lottery pick has to take to get from the NBA Draft podium to a 125 acre apple tree farm in Serbia, so I am most certainly not about to "Dr. Phil" one of the most uneventful, yet interesting careers in all of sports. I will, however, paint this picture for you... Imagine you're a gangly European teenager that was selected between the most can't-miss, elite prospect in decades and a one-and-done college player that was coming off a National Championship winning performance. You walk in your new locker room and meet a team that rosters a host of veterans with strong personalities and championship aspirations who play a defensive-minded system that's already set in stone. Never mind that you aren't particular sure how much you love basketball, because trying to get acclimated to playing a totally different style of it at a far higher level while facing the inherent pressure of being the #2 pick is already causing you massive amounts of anxiety. Then, one day, you're getting ready to walk to your car to take another sweaty, introspective ride home after yet another rough practice, and the leader of the team comes up to you and says "hey man, in the NBA we all shower together". By all accounts, Darko Milicic was very much a deer in the headlights during his first season, and that deer got unexpectedly led into his first ever group shower that was occupied by Rasheed Wallace, Ben Wallace, and Tayshaun Prince. I'm not even sure that "intimidated" is the right word, because I would only be mildly surprised to learn that that particular experience has him traumatized to this day. We are talking about someone that almost certainly wondered "what in the fuck am I even doing here?" on a daily basis, who then begrudgingly sauntered in to the showers to see his shit stirring starting power forward scraping the floor with his 3rd leg. When I was a teenager I would turn my back to the room to put my jock on, and Darko Milicic was washing a thick layer of shame off him while standing next to a guy with big enough balls to earn the nickname 'Big Shot'. It's very obvious Darko Milicic was never able to steady himself after the initial culture shock, and his passion for the game clearly never matched the size he happened to be born with that allowed him to play it at a high enough level to get drafted before Dwyane Wade. That said, a literal, unspoken dick measuring contest that he wasn't at all prepared for probably didn't help. I may be exaggerating here, but imagine being an 18 year old that's dealing with a lack of confidence who accidentally catches eyes with a soaking wet, nude Ben Wallace. I'd probably be ready to pack up my balls and catch the next flight to the opposite side of the world too.
As much as I feel bad for the guy that opened up training camp with a 5 interception performance that forced his team to dumb down their playbook before they even managed to work their way onto page two, Cam Jordan isn't wrong. I'm not sure a comparison was necessary to highlight something as obvious as the fact that going against Drew Brees everyday is a huge challenge that can only benefit a defense. However, if you're going to take unprovoked shots at someone then it might as well be a guy who certainly has more to worry about than the opinion of a defensive lineman on a non-conference opponent. I haven't been paying all that much attention to Jaguars' camp, but I would imagine that Blake Bortles is pretty numb to the pain of his reality by now. Personally, I pity him enough to lay off, but if Cam Jordan felt he needed to throw an unsolicited jab to solidify his point then why not target the league's proverbial punching bag? Seems unnecessary to me, but as long as it was meant to compliment a performance on the particular side of the ball that gives New Orleans' fans nightmares then it's fine by me. The fact of the matter is that the Saints defense - on all levels - pressured, frustrated, and picked off a future 'Hall Of Famer' damn near all day today, and they did so without the help of two of their top three corners. They'll be able to sleep well tonight knowing it wasn't a product of facing a quarterback that has a history of turning footwear into a turnover hazard...
Steph Curry Walked Back the Video Of Him Mocking LeBron's Dance Moves In Vintage Steph Curry Fashion8/2/2017
TheAthletic- “I’ve been watching that video twice a day since it happened because its my favorite video in the entire world. He made a song popular by making a video. And that lives. So now every time I hear that song, that’s all I think about. And I’ve been doing that dance because of him, at my house, at dinner. When something good happens, I pull that out, because I like it and it makes me laugh and it makes me happy. Not making fun of him.” - Steph Curry ------ How could we have been so stupid?!? On behalf of everyone that saw that wedding video and immediately thought it was a dig at apparently one of the only NBA players not in attendance, I am absolutely ashamed of us for jumping to the conclusion that Steph Curry was making fun of a player that he has openly traded subtle, passive aggressive shots with over the years. I know it featured a teammate that LeBron is currently in an active, extremely contentious feud with, but that flawless reenactment of an objectively idiotic dance wasn't an act of mockery...it was an act of homage! Hey Steph, BOOOOOOOO!!!!!! I sure hope you took a look in the rearview before backpedaling faster Deion Sanders in primetime. Wouldn't want you trip over the politically correct bullshit you've spewed all over your career path. Just when you think the NBA's favorite family man has a fun, relatable side he tries to spin an obvious parody of an NBA superstar that he's formed a clear rivalry with into some celebration of LeBron's ability to promote music via terrible, Zumba-esque dance moves. Oh well, just another chapter in the novel idea of false villainy that the Golden State Warriors are writing. One more example of how the most hatable thing about them is that they care so much about not being hated. Someone take the beer that Steph Curry just spilled down his shirt while trying to look cool out of his hand, because we're going to have to be a lot drunker to believe that he and Kyrie Irving weren't having a laugh at the expense of LeBron James...
I simply cannot take this news sitting down. That's mostly because I'm afraid someone will start belting out the 'Star Spangled Banner' and label me a terrorist before I even work up the energy to appropriately salute. However, it's also because the idea that not signing a quarterback who is still moving an unforeseen amount of merchandise for a team he will never again play for is a "bad business decision" stands to reason far less candidly than Colin Kaepernick kneeled for his. I'm no retail wizard and I have a better chance of finding that oh-so-evasive "somewhere" over the rainbow than trying to figure out how the NFL splits the egregiously large pot at the end of theirs. That said, employing a backup quarterback that is more talented than damn near every other back-up quarterback who is also happens to sell a shit ton of jerseys to people who otherwise would have no interest in that franchise seems like a win-win in terms of football and finances. Now, I have no doubts that every owner that so much as acknowledged that Colin Kaepernick has the undeniable human right to sign an NFL contract was flooded with hate mail from the type of old, white conservatives that still think land and sea are the two most efficient ways to deliver a message. However, did anyone stop to consider that the dumbest people are most often the loudest? If money truly talks then aren't the shockingly high sales of one player's now-obsolete paraphernalia proof positive that the amount of people who would be drawn to a team in which they have no connection would probably outnumber the amount of fans who would follow through on their empty threat of boycotting? The people who mortgaged their house to purchase a personal seat license aren't going to give it up because a social activist that serves as a hell of an insurance policy happens to be on the sidelines, and Colin Kaepernick currently has a bigger following than any one team in the entire NFL. It doesn't matter whether or not you acknowledge that engaging in a peaceful protest against oppression is one of the most American things a person can do. Just acknowledge that a billion dollar industry - that is most concerned about their bottomline - is going to need a better excuse than "business reasons" to banish him as if he were some unforgivable felon. Especially since he is still turning a profit for a league that's gone as far as saying he's "overqualified" in finding new and creative ways to justify his unemployment. If I were them I would go back to calling him a distraction. Who knows, it just might be vague enough to be true...
Vontaze Burfict Took A Cheap Shot At His Own Running Back During Training Camp, Because...Well...Duh8/2/2017
You know what they say, the key to success is practicing how you would play. So, in the case of Vontaze trying to hyperextend his own running back knee on a relatively meaningless training camp rep, practice makes Burfict. Honestly, I don't see what all the commotion was about. I get that you don't want to see friendly fire between teammates, but you pretty much give up the right to be upset by it when you continue to employ the NFL's preeminent psychopath. If Vontaze Burfict had any situational awareness whatsoever he wouldn't have tried to decapitate Antonio Brown when his team had a late lead in a playoff game, so I'm not exactly taken aback by this particular Bengals' inability to change it's stripes while playing amongst other Bengals. Testing the durability of your tailback's tendons probably isn't the best idea, but if you drew a gridiron on his lawn I'm pretty sure Vontaze Burfict would be at risk of concussing his own niece if she came across the field with her head down during a backyard game of two-hand touch. He's like Pavlov's most undisciplined dog except his stimulus is a whistle instead of a bell and his automated response is an unquenchable thirst....for blood. Telling Vontaze Burfict he can't tackle is like telling a woman that a particular guy is off-limits...if that woman had arms that looked like thigh-ceps and insatiable appetite for destruction. I'm not trying to say that I would excuse the behavior of a linebacker whose actively trying to fill up his own team's PUP list, but I am saying that the Cincinnati Bengals have done just that by giving him a defensive backfield to roam freely all these years. If they really wanted to get their lunatic of a linebacker ready for the season without with endangering anybody's else then they would have stuck him in a cage with a bunch of actual Bengals that were flown over from Nepal after not having eaten for a week, because this half-contact bullshit couldn't possibly prepare him for some intent to injure (i.e. get him in mid-season form). NYDN- Morris Claiborne is willing to risk his life despite the mounting research linking the degenerative brain disease chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) to football. The veteran Jets cornerback has suffered three documented concussions over the past decade, but that hasn’t altered his view about playing the game that he loves.
“A lot of people don’t believe me when I say this,” Claiborne told the Daily News in a candid discussion about CTE and concussions. “But I would die out there on that football field. This is my life. This is what I do. I give it all. I would die out there.” “If I was concussed that bad where they said you can’t go back out there or you’ll potentially lose your life, I gotta go,” he added. “I gotta go play. I gotta go play.” “This is what I do. This is all I know,” Claiborne said. “I might die lying there sitting on the couch. … I don’t want to coach. I want to play football.” Claiborne said family is an important factor, “but at the same time, they’re not there playing.” “They don’t feel the way I feel about this game,” Claiborne said. “If anybody can go through some of the things that I went through and still push on, you ain’t gonna let nothing stop you. So, I’m not going to let nothing stop me. Nothing at all.” ----- Oh, the irony. The New York Jets currently employ two defensive backs that - if you believe their own words - would literally sacrifice their life for a franchise has already murdered any possible chance they have of playing meaningful football this season. I know it takes a certain level of crazy to go out there compete against the biggest, strongest, and baddest athletes on the planet in the most physically taxing sport on earth every week, but that level of crazy is only surpassed by how nuts you would have to be not to consider the circumstances before doing so with your health at risk. In theory, the team that Jamal Adams and Morris Claiborne play for shouldn't effect how willing they are to compromise the long term functionality of their fucking brain, but in practice it absolutely should. They are currently part of some pathetically putrid means to an end, and since that end is somewhere undoubtedly somewhere amongst the 2-3 worst teams in the entire NFL, they should probably sit their asses on the bench if they have a mild headache, never mind a degenerative contusion inside their skull. Maybe (definitely not) I could see the allure of playing through the beginning stages of CTE if they were lining up in playoff games with the Patriots, but I wouldn't even play through an STD if I were a New York Jet. That's got nothing to do with toughness or competitiveness, that's just a refusal to not potentially give my ability to think clearly into my 40's to an organization that wouldn't give me the respect to make it look like they are even trying to win football games. If I were Morris Claiborne I probably wouldn't step back on the field if someone told me "hey man, a strong gust of wind might leave you braindead". He seems to have his heart set on doing so, but may I suggest that he saves his compromised cerebellum for games that might actually matter? SportsDay- Cowboys first-round pick Taco Charlton is off to a slow start in training camp, but that's to be expected considering the strength of the club's offensive line.
The defensive end hasn't been in the backfield often and in most cases has been dominated in one-on-one drills against tackles La'el Collins and Tyron Smith. Cowboys defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli has offered advice and also started calling him "Taquito" at times. Marinelli is fond of giving his defensive linemen nicknames. Charlton said he's heard "Taquito" from Marinelli "once or twice." "I don't think you can beat Taco, so it's kind of been a hard challenge," Charlton said. "You really have to stay with Taco. That's a hard name to beat." Marinelli said every now and then he might throw out "Taco Chip" or "Pita Chip" also. "Whatever Mexican food I eat," Marinelli said, "is what he is." ------- All I am saying is that we should all be happy that Taco Charlton isn't even part latino. I would like to think that would change things and that Rod Marinelli would have the wherewithal to refrain from going around calling people by the name of their nationality's cuisine to have most recently passed through his body. However, a 68 year old white guy that cracks himself up when he makes the loose culinary connection between the name 'Taco' and the nickname 'Pita Chip' is probably the same type of 68 year old white guy that thinks that joke plays no matter the audience. I'm not at all shocked that Rod Marinelli's "can't-miss" wisecracks are inspired by the menu at 'Moe's Southwest Grill', but I am a slightly surprised that his "name some stereotypical ethnic food" humor hasn't gotten him in trouble as of yet. That might be one of those habits that he should try to kick before it becomes more common - and much harder to control - once he hits his 70's. If there's one thing I know about poorly executed dad jokes it's that when they are motivated by cultural connectivity they can quickly become unfit for mixed company. |
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