These bastards.
These absolute bastards.
It was one thing when they started an imitation NIT.
It’s another when they jump into the post-football power vacuum with such haste and force!
The NFL season isn’t over. We have three more weeks of it. We also, though, have only three more games, and they’re only happening on two of these 21 days. There are only so many storylines football can generate when it finally recedes down to less than one night a week. This is the time in the calendar when sports fans turn their eyes to college basketball, wondering breathlessly which 32 teams will make this year’s NIT.
Unless the NBA messes it up.
In the 48 hours immediately following the Bills’ defeat at the hands of Jason Kelce’s vibes, the NBA gave us:
- A 70-point game by Joel Embiid.
- A 62-point game in a loss by Karl-Anthony Towns.
- Tristan Thompson suspended 25 games for PEDs.
- A Kyle Lowry/Terry Rozier trade.
- Giannis stepping into the proud tradition where players get too good at basketball and are told by the ecosystem that they now should also be good at being a general manager. We lost another one, folks. The Bucks are reportedly preparing to bring in Doc Rivers because they didn’t like Adrian Griffin’s defensive approach. “But it might work for us!”
These bastards!!!!!
The NBA is so good at storylines. It is so, so good at them. You think Adam Silver asked the Hornets/Heat, Bucks, and their own drug test enforcement office to hold off on everything until after the Josh Allen smoke had cleared? I kind of do. A little bit of me does. They can’t keep getting away with this.
That all said: I’m glad Leaky Black is getting his love for the block last night (and the free throws) to end the most KAT game in KAT history. Partly because I think the Timberwolves are a little silly and it was fun to see them do a silly thing, but partly because I always kind of liked Leaky Black. If I’m ever stuck in an elevator for three days without food and water with a UNC fan, I think we could start patching up our recent differences by talking about Leaky Black.
How Free Is Will Wade?
I’m going to disclose something to you all:
I wrote this subheader five hours ago, and I’ve forgotten where I was going with it.
McNeese did have a wacky ending last night, though.
Down two, with time running out, McNeese had the ball and was running the break against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. The Islander (that’s AMCC, and let’s call him Jordan Roberts) seemed to think AMCC was up three, so he fouled. They were up two. The Cowboy (that’s McNeese, and let’s call him Mike Saunders Jr.) did, however, miss the second free throw! Fouling up two. That’s about to be in vogue.
And so it was, that as the ball bounced off the front of the rim, the Islanders led by one. Until…
Until Antavion Collum got the offensive rebound for McNeese, and then Christian Shumate got the other offensive rebound for McNeese (because Collum missed), and then Christian Shumate made the putback. McNeese wins by one, keeping their NIT path (which is something like going 29–4 with a loss in the Southland Tournament—they’re currently 17–2) alive. All after going nearly ten minutes without scoring at one point, a stretch in which they fell behind by 18.
About That Weasel Tom Rinaldi
I missed this on Saturday. I was too focused on the game, I guess, or on discerning whether Greg Olsen was cheering against the Packers. I missed Tom Rinaldi paraphrasing Matt LaFleur in a way that made it sound like LaFleur had no confidence in Anders Carlson. Not that LaFleur should have all that much confidence in Anders Carlson, but come on, Tom, we know LaFleur’s not an idiot. Give us the full quote.
For a long time, Tom Rinaldi’s job was to hunt down dramatic stories and present them as dramatically as possible. Now, it’s to give little insights about a football game, some in a sideline reporter role? I’m not clear about that last part. Anyway, expect a lot more bullying of Tom Rinaldi going forward. That stupid hat was just the start.
Poor Shane Waldron
I don’t know what this guy did, but former Seahawks offensive coordinator Shane Waldron has been sentenced to being the offensive coordinator for the Bears. Probably with Caleb Williams. Which sounds great! Until you remember that it is the Bears.
It’s not a bad hire on paper, but that’s the thing about the Bears recently: They don’t make a lot of bad hires on paper. They make the occasional slightly splashy hire (Matt Nagy was once exciting stuff, Marc Trestman was a reach but would have made them look like geniuses), but they mostly go vanilla, and then the vanilla gets all the other flavors mixed into it at Halas Hall and comes out tasting very gross. Something will go wrong here. It always does.
Wait. The Indy 500 Winner Has to Do What?
From ESPN:
Roger Penske received his record-extending 19th Indianapolis 500 trophy at a Tuesday reception in Michigan alongside winner Josef Newgarden, who needed 12 tries to earn his first Borg-Warner.
The Borg-Warner is one of the most iconic trophies in sports and features the likeness of every previous Indy 500 winner. Replicas called a “baby Borg” are later presented to the winning driver and team owner, and the presentation at The Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn is essentially Newgarden’s final duty in a long list of celebratory obligations for the Indy 500 winner.
I love a lot of things here. The Baby Borg. The pilgrimage to the Henry Ford Museum. The presentation of this as a solemn duty, like if the Stanley Cup winners had to go baptize the trophy anew in the Hudson Bay.
I wonder how long they’ve been doing this.
Oh man.
Evidently the Henry Ford Museum’s technical name is just The Henry Ford. Also, it’s a replica of Independence Hall? I haven’t even started scrolling down yet on the Wikipedia page. I was just looking for how old it is! We might have to go to the Henry Ford Museum. Whether we get to see a trophy presentation or not.
Who Has to Serve in the Ukrainian Military?
Not to brag, but I watched a little tennis last night after the Montana/Weber State game ended (it was everything we wanted it to be, and yes, Montana does have the huge bear logo at center court, I don’t know that I knew that for sure). Coco Gauff vs. Marta Kostyuk. I supported my countrywoman.
Late in the second set, the camera cut to who was thought to be Kostyuk’s husband. He was wearing a hat. The hat had a pair of coconuts on it in the position of women’s breasts. It said, “Shake Your Cocos.”
I think it’s possible these are sold all over Australia. My impression of Australia is that they’re a little horny, and a little tropical, and very much in need of hats, especially at the Australian Open during what was there a midday match. I don’t know how premeditated this was. Maybe it was very premeditated. Maybe it wasn’t at all. Weird hat. Weird time to wear a weird hat.
We don’t care about that!
What I’m confused about is how the husband of Marta Kostyuk, a Ukrainian tennis star, isn’t serving right now! I thought Ukrainian adult males weren’t allowed to leave Ukraine, because of that whole thing going on there where Putin is trying to overrun their country and turn it into a Russian puppet state.
Maybe he’s not Ukrainian.
Maybe he got an exception because his wife is really good at tennis.
We might never know.
In other Australian Open news, I thought the following ESPN headline was in poor taste. We can just call them pregnant, guys: Seeded women keep dropping at Australian Open.
RIP Uga
The University of Georgia announced that Que, Uga X, passed away this morning at the age of ten. He was the most successful Uga in Georgia history, and I don’t think it’s outlandish to wonder if he was what made the difference for the football program after years of not getting over the hump. They stopped rolling over when he stood up to Bevo at that Sugar Bowl. I don’t know if Georgia becomes what Georgia became without the work of Que.
I love the concept of these pampered canine mascots. They live the best lives. They’re dogs. They like to play! They wag their tails. They are the adorable faces representing the hopes and dreams of hundreds of thousands of people. Sometimes millions. It’s all very sweet. I hope Que enjoyed his life as much as we all did from afar. Now, I must go awake Fargo from her snoozle to give that dog a hug.
A Shane Pinto Update and Other Miscellany
- So Shane Pinto’s back. Guess he played on Sunday. Had an assist on the Stützle goal. That’s on me. I will be a better Sens fan and blogger going forward. To all my fellow Sens fans, those of you who only read these posts for news about the Sens: I am sorry, and I am committed to doing better. They’ve got the Canadiens tonight in Montreal, and in another correction from our previous reporting, the Moms Trip isn’t over yet. Moms in Montreal! Who’s the Montreal icon they can take down like they took down Rocky? Youppi!? (The exclamation point is part of Youppi!’s name.)
- The Bulls lost to the Suns, but how did they do it? By a little! Blew a big lead. Kevin Durant hit a nice game-winner. I kind of hope the Bulls trade nobody at the deadline. No moves whatsoever. And that AK then says it’s because he thinks this roster can win a title this year. What if he’s right??
- Burnley announced a partnership today with Dundee FC, a Scottish club. This reminds me: What ever happened to those partnerships with Ayr United, Cobh Ramblers, Portadown FC, and Llandudno FC, from Scotland, Ireland, Northern Ireland, and Wales, respectively? I would like a followup on those. Are they working? I don’t think they’re working.
- We’re going to have a lot of NIT talk tomorrow after toNITe’s action. So much good stuff going on right now. I think I saw Lil’ Red. And Texas is getting fans’ hopes up! (Timestamp: 7:48 PM Texas Time, 6:58 left in second half.)
