NBA

The King and His Court.

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

LeBron James exercised his right to free speech yesterday.  King James was holding court with reporters in LA after a workout on the court.  In a 45 second answer to an inaudible question James said Houston Rockets GM Daryl Morey, he of the tweet of support for the protesters in Hong Kong, “wasn’t educated on the situation at hand.”

He went on to say that Morey’s foray into pro democratic support could have caused people to be harmed “not only financially, but physically, emotionally, and spiritually.”  He reemphasized that we do indeed have freedom of speech, but we must be careful with how we use it because there can be a lot of negatives that come with it.  And, he also said that he didn’t want to get into a war of words or sentences with Daryl.

The NBA received tremendous bipartisan criticism for their initial response to Morey’s tweet, when they responded by calling the post “regrettable” for the offense that it caused. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver eventually tried to tamp out the firestorm by recognizing Morey’s free speech rights.  China canceled exhibition games and a number of business deals with the Rockets, and the NBA as well.

Now, with the league representatives and players back from their tumultuous trip to China, LeBron, who has never shied away from social justice issues or criticism of American leadership weighed in.

And, all of this makes us wonder.

How does LeBron know that Morey is not educated on the “situation at hand?”  Or, is it more of LeBron exercising his right to free speech by expressing his opinion of Morey without knowing the depths of his study or concern of the subject matter?  LeBron said that we “need to realize that there are ramifications to what we tweet, what we say, and what we do.”  Does basically calling someone “uneducated” qualify?

LeBron expressed concern for the harm the tweet could have caused.  He then led with “not only financially.”  Hmm.  Seems like “financially” was top of mind over the physical, emotional, and spiritual concerns.  Words mean something we were told.  The order in which you use them does as well.  We also wonder how the pro Hong Kong tweet could have caused “spiritual” harm, but we digress.

And, King James wants no war of words (or sentences) with Daryl.  If that is the case, why speak out on it a full 10 days afterwards?  We wonder if James could have picked up his “smart” phone to call the “not smart” Daryl to discuss the matter privately and at some length versus the 45 second sound bite?  In yesteryear the world’s occupants actually used to talk to one another.

And most of all we wonder.   Does LeBron recognize that the “fight for freedom” that Morey was championing is the exact freedom Morey had when he tweeted and was the exact freedom that LeBron exercised when he called out Morey for doing so?  Burger King, not King James, once had a tag line.  “Have it your way!”

This “woke” society that we live in needs to wake up.

 

 

 

Morey’s Three Second Lane Violation

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

Did you know who Daryl Morey was prior to last Saturday?  The Houston Rockets General Manager brought analytical concepts similar to MLB’s Money Ball approach to the Rockets organization over a decade ago.  Under his leadership the franchise has won plenty of games, acquired James Harden, but hasn’t won it all.

But, Morey’s tweet of support of the pro democracy movement/protests in Hong Kong, and vis a vis against The People’s Republic of China, threatened to take money from the NBA, it’s owners (specifically Rockets new owner Tillman Fertitta), and it’s players.  So the NBA, Fertitta, and Harden acted quickly.  They whistled a violation.  It’s the golden rule.  He who has the basketball makes the rules.  Morey was in the NBA lane (and out of his) for three long seconds.

In a statement Sunday, NBA chief communications officer Mike Bass called Morey’s tweet “regrettable” and said the league had “great respect for the history and culture of China.”  “The NBA can be used as a unifying force to bridge cultural divides and bring people together,” Bass said.

Fertitta tweeted that Morey’s tweet did not reflect the views of the NBA organization.  He went on to state that their presence in China is to promote the NBA internationally and that the Rockets were NOT a political organization.

Rockets superstar James Harden also pushed back on Morey’s statements. “We apologize. You know, we love China. We love playing there,” Harden said in Tokyo on Monday at practice, ESPN reported. “We go there once or twice a year. They show us the most important love.

“The most important love” actually might be “the most important money.”   You see a Chinese sportswear maker, two banks that sponsored the Rockets and a Chinese broadcaster that aired games bailed on the team, according to a Reuters report.

The sportswear maker, Li-Ning, expressed “strong condemnation” of Morey’s tweet, saying that it had suspended cooperation with the Rockets, and one of the banks, SPD, said it had halted marketing and publicity activities with them, Reuters reported.

So, yesterday, Morey under what we assume was intense pressure from the Chinese dictatorial government, China manufacturers and marketers, the NBA, his boss Fertitta, and his other boss James Harden, tweeted that he had contemplated his position on the matter a bit further. “I was merely voicing one thought, based on one interpretation, of one complicated event,” Morey said. “I have had a lot of opportunity since that tweet to hear and consider other perspectives.”

And so, in the real world span of time equivalent to a 24 second shot clock, the tweet heard round the world clanged off of the Pacific Rim.  For the NBA the only thing more important than defending this three point Morey shot was getting the rebound and starting a fast break the other way.

Last year Adam Silver, NBA Commissioner, addressed the media for a state of the NBA union.  He lamented the fact that the NBA had too few women in coaching positions and refereeing.  “There is no reason why we shouldn’t have women in 50% of these jobs,” he continued.  It’s about all about equal opportunity in the NBA.

A few years back, in his first as said commish, Silver strongly condemned the then LA Clippers owner Donald Sterling.  Sterling was caught on tape tossing around a few racial epitaphs.  Sterling got a lifetime ban for speaking in a hateful manner.  It’s all about equal opportunity in the NBA.

Ah, but over the weekend, social justice broke an ankle as capitalism pulled a crossed over dribble on it.  The NBA is just like many causes, movements, organizations, and individuals these days.  They align with all of these great ideals until those ideals don’t align with what’s in their best interest.  Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.  Or, not.  Alas, there really are no free throws in the NBA.

Fertitta made his fortune acquiring and expanding several restaurant chains.  Then, last year he acquired the Rockets.  His restaurant portfolio lacks a Chinese chain.  Perhaps he wants to put a full court press on Panda Express.  With all of the pandering that the NBA has done to appease the Chinese, it should be a slam dunk for him.

And, Morey has a far better understanding of money ball than ever before.

 

 

Ten Piece Nuggets-Sports

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

Summer’s in.  Three major U.S. sports (football. basketball, and hockey) are out.  But the pickings are never slim with our nuggets.  Whether you dine in or take out, enjoy the ten below.

  1.  The ugly Americans scored 50 combined runs in the first two London MLB games ever.  The Yankees out scored the defending Word Series champion Boston Red Sox 17-13 on Saturday and 12-8 on Sunday.  If the Brits like scoring, they got scoring.  The teams combined for 65 hits, 16 doubles and 10 homers.  Only one starting pitcher made it out of the first inning.
  2. BoSox manager Alex Cora was impressed with the 60k screaming fans, but not his team.  “It was eye opening, the last two days, from top to bottom,’’ Red Sox manager Alex Cora. “They’re a lot better than us right now.’’ The Yanks are rolling, even in Europe.
  3. MLB took a bow.  They retrofitted a soccer stadium that was more than serviceable.  They saw 60k fans stand and cheer each of the two days.  All in all it was good to great publicity for a game that often struggles to market itself.  “All of the feedback was that it was fantastic,’’ MLB senior vice president Jim Small said. “So, from a U.S. standpoint, the pitching wasn’t very good, the game was too long, but it was such a great fresh start for baseball here.’’
  4. The Yankees scorching 9-1 record in their last ten has pushed their lead over the Devil Rays to 7 games in the AL East.   Five of the six division leaders enjoy leads of 5.5, 6.5,7, 8 and 12 games.  Only the NL central is close where the Cubs and the Brewers are tied for first.   Half of the season is over.  Are five of the six division races over?   Probably not, but maybe so.  Say it ain’t so.  At least a bunch of teams are still very alive for a wild card spot.
  5.  LPGA’s Michelle Wie announced late last week that she was shutting down her 2019 season due to a chronic wrist injury.  There was no word on whether the wrist was injured when she tweeted to express her dismay via Twitter of Hank Haney’s LPGA U.S. Open remarks.  Haney tweeted out Saturday “Know what last name rhymes with Wie?  Lee!”  No, he didn’t.
  6.  How about a golf clap for first time PGA winner Nate Lashley?  On Sunday, the 36-year-old journeyman, ranked 353rd in the world and the last player to get into the Rocket Mortgage Classic, was a winner for the first time with an impressive six-stroke margin at Detroit Golf Club. He now has a job on the game’s biggest stage for the next two years. A spot in next month’s Open Championship awaits, as does an invitation to next year’s Masters among other perks. That is pretty sweet for a guy with just one previous top-10 on the PGA Tour in 32 starts.  Fifteen long and hard years ago his mother, father, and girlfriend crashed and perished in a small plane accident in Wyoming while attempting to return to Nebraska after watching the then 21 year old Nate play in a tournament for Arizona U. in Oregon.  The golf gods said, “enough already.”  Great story.
  7. The NBA free agency period is off and some teams are playing above the rim.   In a whirlwind of conversations, salary dumps, more conversations, max salary offers, and strokes of genius, several franchises saw significant transformations.   No transformation is bigger than where the Brooklyn Nets are headed however.  After years of also ran status the Nets will land Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and DeAndre Jordan.  If (when really) GM Sean Marks completes these FA signings the Nets will have exactly one player left from the 2015-2016 roster Marks had when he started that won only 21 games.
  8. Durant, baring a major medical miracle, will miss all of the 2019-2020 season with his torn achilles.  That didn’t stop the Nets from throwing max or near max money at him.  It did stop the Knicks who worried publicly about his total recovery.  One borough’s loss was another borough’s gain.  Durant at 90% is still an unselfish player who melds well with other stars and would still be an all star level player himself.
  9. The Miami Heat are believed to be very close to completing a deal that would land Jimmy Butler from the Philadelphia 76ers.  Butler was rumored a week ago to be heading to the Houston Rockets to join Chis Paul and The Beard.  Butler was rumored eight months ago to be headed to those same Rockets.  Houston you may or not have a problem with team chemistry.  But, with exactly zero draft picks this past draft and a HUGE Paul four year deal only entering year two now, you clearly have some hurdles to clear to try to hurdle the Golden State Warriors in the West.  GM Daryl Morey can feel the heat coming from one of restaurant magnet and owner Tillman Fertitta’s kitchens.
  10. However, Tillman Fertitta and 31 owners of NBA franchises may not be “owners” for much longer.   In the league office and in some team’s front offices a push is on to remove that term due to it’s “racial insensitivity” in a league whose players are 75% African American.   In Los Angeles, Steve Ballmer ,who was billed as the owner for the first couple of years after he took over the Clippers is now listed as Chairman on the team’s website.  That change occurred in early 2018.   The term “governor” is being used inside of the league office “for years now” per Commissioner Adam Silver.  “Governor,” really?  Hopefully everyone feels better.

We at least know that you’ll feel better having consumed the above.  It’s Monday, and this work week is at most four days long.  Enjoy.

Who Went Where?

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

Did you watch the NBA draft last evening?  We did all the while channel surfing.  We suspect many others did while texting, or cooking, or talking, or surfing that internet that Al Gore invented.  With America’s attention span far shorter than the wing span of many of these new draft pics we wonder how many of us have any clue who went to whom?

The confusion we create, to follow who went were, is on us.  The confusion the NBA creates, on who went where, is on them.

What confusion you ask?  It’s how NBA draft day trades work for teams involved, and how they don’t work for the casual viewer.  Eight of the thirty first round picks were traded last evening, or just over 25 percent.  Except the picks weren’t really traded.  Got it?  Confused?

It seems complicated actually.  And, we researched it and can confirm, it’s complicated.

In short NBA teams trade the draft rights to a player that that NBA team has just selected.  In other words when team A agrees to trade draft rights of pick X to team B for draft rights to picks Y and Z, team B does so only when team A agrees to select player Q for team B.  A multiple choice quiz follows.  Just kidding.

Why does the NBA do it this way rather than allowing team B to make it’s own selection with the pick?  It’s all due to the collective bargaining agreement(CBA), the exclusive rights it gives the team for a year, the salary cap, the timing of the NBA year, it’s salary cap implications, and the two dates of July 6 and July 30.  A multiple choice quiz follows.  No, really, we are just kidding.

What does this do to the average fan?  It confuses them.  Eight times last evening a player walked onto the stage wearing a certain team’s hat having just been drafted by them.  Eight times in eight in thirty days from now that player won’t be with that team.  He’ll be with the team who has his rights.

So, ESPN interviews the player and cannot ask what it feels like to be headed eventually to the team that he will play for.  Sometimes the kid drafted doesn’t even know that he is moving.   So, ESPN interviews the player and doesn’t ask what it’s like to be drafted by the team whose hat sits right on top of his head.  So, TV shows us one thing, and tries to explain that it didn’t happen how you see it.  And, they attempt this all in five minutes.  If you just jumped, hypothetically, from Fox News (which, as you know, is fair and balanced) and see “Joe Blow” in a Lakers hat, don’t believe what your eyes just saw.  Thanks Kirk Gibson.   No, no.  Thank the NBA.

MLB draft presentations look and feel like dedications to libraries and the trusty Dewey Decimal System.  NFL draft presentations look and feel like three day rock concerts.  NBA draft presentations look and feel like something that is hard to look at, we feel.

Adam Silver is the most progressive commissioner when it comes to embracing gambling on games.  He should roll the dice on a new CBA agreement (or timing thereof) that allows us to see who goes where when we tune in.

Otherwise, it’s too easy to tune out.

 

 

Ten Piece Nuggets-Sports

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

Greetings.  Did you miss us?  We missed you and your comments.  Glad to be back at it.  We have a lot to catch up on.  Some of the below is a bit less timely than others, but we cannot help our selves.   Warm and some fresh, some not as fresh, here are the tender vittles.

  1.  Congrats go to the NBA Raptors and the NHL Blues.   What a parlay that ticket would have been.  We haven’t seen that ticket, but a legit ticket made it’s way around Al Gore’s internet last week that showed a $400 bet, turned winning wager, on the Blues to win the Stanley Cup placed prior to the season.  The odds you ask?  250 to 1.  The payout?  It was 100k.  Kudos.
  2. The Golden St. Warriors loss of Kevin Durant and, in game seven, Klay Thompson should in no way dull the finish on the Raptors’ crown.  Injuries happen in sports.  They happen every day.  Next man up.
  3. A week ago the Lakers had the shortest odds in Vegas at 4-1 to be the 2020 NBA champions.   Yep, it isn’t a misprint, nor a typo, nor a mistake.  It’s the infatuation with the Lakers.  A week later they acquired a dude named Anthony Davis.  The uni brow heads to Tinseltown.  Maybe 4-1 was good money after all.  Maybe not.
  4. LaVar Ball thought it was a bad move.  Shocking.  “I guarantee: Like I say again, it will be the worst move the Lakers ever did in their life and they will never win another championship,” LaVar Ball told ESPN while at the Drew League on Saturday to watch his son LaMelo play. “Guarantee it.”  No word on how good his word is on the guarantee.  Can we get our money back?  And, the Lakers don’t have a life.  The people who run it do.  And, never is a long time.   There are publicity hounds and there is LaVar.
  5. If you never watch golf you might still have watched the US Open this weekend.  Pebble Beach is one of the greatest looking places on the entire planet.  Period.  If you did watch you heard the Fox Sports broadcast.  Hopefully you turned the sound down and enjoyed the visual majesty.  Joe Buck is fine.  He’s no Jim Nance, friends.  But the rest of the team is somewhere between bad and horrendous.  Paul Azinger is very bad with spelled with a capital VERY.  When Joe Buck was chatting with Pebble Beach homeowner Jim Nance briefly on Saturday Azinger wondered aloud what he was doing on the set with two legends.  We wondered the same.  Also, Zinger needs to find a new barber.  Any one of them will be way better than his current one.
  6. The only one that is worse than Azinger is Curtis Strange.  His facial expressions could be on pharmaceutical commercials for sufferers that need anti depressants or anti constipation medicine.  He said on Saturday about a Brooks Koepka pending approach shot, “this is a hard shot.”  He said no more.  Riveting and ground breaking aren’t words that come to mind with Fox Sports decision to have these two wall flowers on air.  They have the US Open broadcast locked up for 12 years.  It’s never too soon to make changes.  Never.
  7. In the MLB AL West the Astros own a 9.5 game lead over the Rangers.  In the NL West the Dodgers own a 10.5 game lead over the Rockies.  The season isn’t half over.  It’s about 45 percent over, actually.  But, these two division races are over.  It’s not that the teams within the two western divisions are that bad.  It’s that the Astros and the Dodgers are that good.  And, we add, the Astros have played the last three weeks without Altuve, Springer, and Correa.  Wowza.
  8. Don’t sleep on the Twins either.  Their lead is 10 games over the Cleveland Indians.  Their win percentage is .671, best in all of baseball.  Their run differential is 116 runs, best in all of baseball.  Relax Yankees fans.  The Yankees are good as well.  They lead their division by a half of a game over the very pesky Tampa Bay Rays.  Everyone on the Yankees team has spent time on the DL except Mickey Mantle and Yogi Berra.  When they get healthy they”ll be tough to beat.
  9. The NFL Houston Texans will no longer pursue New England Patriots director of player personnel Nick Caserio for their GM position, the team announced Friday.  As a result, the Patriots dropped the tampering charges they filed last week against the Texans for attempting to hire him.  This is according to ESPN, the worldwide leader in sports coverage and anything Lakers or LeBron related.  On Wednesday, sources said the Texans had requested permission to interview Caserio for their GM job, but had not been granted permission.  Owner Robert Kraft still faces charges as well.  He hopes that they will get dropped (like his pants) as well.
  10. Way too much has been made of the ugly American’s Women’s World Cup 13-0 romp over Thailand.  “They should have stopped scoring.”  “They should have passed the ball more.”  “They should have subbed more.”  “They should have called off the dogs.”  It’s the World Cup.  How in the world did Thailand qualify?  Sunday’s three nil (as they say) win over Chile is shutout no. 2 for the ugly Americans.  Will anyone score on them?  Probably.  Maybe.  Maybe not.

Like Kotter, welcome back.

 

Ten Piece Nuggets-Sports

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

It’s another Tuesday morning serving of the normally Monday Ten Piece Nuggets.  We aim to please and wanted to serve you yesterday, but people named Jeoungeun, Hank, and Tiger keep cutting the buffet line.  Enjoy as we cover multiple sports in ten quick bites.

  1.  MLB held the first two rounds of their 2019 draft last evening.  Baseball fever.  Did you catch it?  Probably not.  It was on the MLB network.  No Nashville.  No music.  No street parties.  No trades.  No green room.  It’s just one big room with 32 tables, one for each team that take turns picking from pitchers and position players.  You can get drafted right out of high school.  Or, you can get drafted after three eligible college years.   The contrast between the NFL and MLB is arguably never more on display than on their respective draft nights.
  2. Adley Rutschman went first overall to the Baltimore Orioles on Monday.  Rutschman is a catcher.  His batting and defense combined to make him irresistible as the first pick.  At Oregon St. he stood out on a standout team for his three years there.  He’s a “can’t miss” the scouts say.
  3.  Can’t miss?  Before they start pushing statues around to make room for him in Cooperstown, know that the road to the majors and success therein isn’t a given.  Since 1965 when MLB began holding the draft as it is known today seven catchers have been selected first overall.  Rutschman is the seventh.  Mostly forgettable names are the first six (actually five as Danny Goodwin was picked first in two separate drafts after he refused to report to the first team) selections.  B.J. Surhoff and Joe Mauer are the best of the five names.  But, there are no Hall of Fame names to be found.
  4.  Bobby Witt Jr. was selected second overall.  The 19 year-old high school shortstop went to the Kansas City Royals.  He may be the most famous name in this year’s class.  Witt’s father was the No. 3 overall pick in the 1985 draft, making the Witts the first father-son combination to both be selected as top-five picks.
  5. The NCAA baseball playoffs began last weekend.  Sixteen regionals in sixteen cities had sixteen number one seeds hosting a four team double elimination tournament.  Obviously, only sixteen survive to participate in the Super Regionals this coming weekend.  Of the sixteen no. one seeds, 12 advanced to the Supers.  Eight teams will advance to the CWS in Omaha.  Because several top seeds square off against one another as few as four, or as many as eight no. one’s could get there.  The SEC with six and the ACC with four dominate the Supers.  The Pac 12 and the Big 12 have two each.  They play great hockey in the north.  Baseball not so much as the Big 10 has but one survivor.
  6.  FSU head coach Mike Martin is coaching the Seminoles in the Supers this weekend.  When their season ends, his career ends. He’s retiring.  He’s been their head coach for 40 years.  40 years.  His teams have won over 2000 games. 2000.  They have never missed the postseason under his watch.  Never.  They have won 40 or more games every year of his 40 years.  Every year except one, that is.   This year they sit at 35 wins.  They need to get past LSU at LSU to pick up two more wins and get three more in Omaha to get to the magical forty wins in all forty years.
  7. It’s 21 months before the NFL and it’s player’s association current labor agreement expires.  But, it’s never to early to start negotiating in public.  Commish Roger Goodell said yesterday that four preseason games were no longer necessary to get players ready for the season.  “I feel what we should be doing is always to the highest quality, and I’m not sure preseason games meet that level right now,” Goodell said.  What he really is saying is he wants two more regular season games.  This would generate more TV ratings and therefore more revenue.  No word on the always safety conscious NFL’s position on if these two games would further endanger the player’s health.  Heck, they even have a concussion protocol in place now.
  8. It’s under three months until the NCAA football season begins.  Find us a website or a printed magazine that doesn’t brazenly pick Alabama or Clemson to win it all.  Good luck.  As a matter of fact USA Today, CBS SportsLine, and The Sporting News all have at 5. THE Ohio St., 4. Oklahoma, 3. Georgia, 2. Alabama or Clemson, and 1. Clemson or Alabama.  Should we just fast forward to January?  Lee Corso sez, “not so fast my friend.”
  9. The resilient St. Louis Blues shook off a seven goal by seven different players shellacking on the weekend and bounced back with a 4-2 win to even the Stanley Cup Finals at two games a piece with the Boston Bruins.  Six games are assured and seven is quite likely in the this bruising, black and blue(s) final matchup.  The seven goal barrage by the visiting Bruins happened on the Blues first home ice Stanley Cup Final in 49 long years. What a statement by Boston. The Blues bounce back last evening was a statement unto itself.  Drop the puck.
  10. Two weeks ago after Kevin Durant’s injury, Sir Charles Barkley predicted that the Golden State Warriors would not win another game v. the Houston Rockets.  After knocking out the Rockets and the Trailblazers in the next round sans KD ,Golden St. stands tied with the Toronto Raptors 1-1 in the NBA Finals.  Yesterday Stephen A. Smith predicted that the Finals are over if KD comes back for the Warriors.  Toronto need not show up apparently.  If Stephen A. gets it wrong like Sir Charles did, should Stephen A. Smith change his name to Stephen Eh. Smith in honor of the Canadians?  Eh?

Use SPF of 50 or more. Apply frequently.  It’s sunny and hot out there.

Ten Piece Nuggets-Sports

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

It’s time for your Tuesday edition of the Monday tradition of the Ten Piece Nuggets.  Enough of  baseball (never), hot dogs, apple pie, and sitting poolside.  Try some tasty ones below.

  1.  The Indianapolis 500 was Sunday.  Did you watch?  No you didn’t.  Pole sitter Simon Pagenaud held off Alexander Rossi and Takuma Sato to win his first career Indianapolis 500 on Sunday. The 2016 IndyCar Series champion finished just two-tenths of a second ahead of Rossi in a very exciting run for the checkered flag.  And, the pair traded the lead several times in the final 10 laps.
  2. Quick Indy quiz for you.  Part one.  Is there part of a golf course located inside the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway?  Yes.  Four holes of the Brickyard Crossing Golf Course are situated inside of the track.  It’s voted time and again as a top 100 American public course.  Careful.  You are responsible for broken car windshields.  They aren’t cheap.  Part two.  Is Bobby Rahal still driving Indy cars for a living?  Nope.  His son Graham Rahal is.  Graham finished 27 after crashing.  Bobby is a smooth 66 already.
  3. Super Bowl two time MVP and winning quarterback of the first two Super Bowls, Bart Starr, is dead at 85.  Green Bay Packer Starr has the highest postseason passer rating (104.8) of any quarterback in NFL history and a postseason record of 9–1. His career completion percentage of 57.4 was an NFL best when he retired in 1972.   It was a different game back then.
  4. Quick Bart Starr quiz for you.   Part one.  Bart Starr played QB in college for what school?  Roll Tide Roll.   Alabama.  Part two.  What round did the Packers take Starr way back in 1956?  It was the seventeen round and he was the 200th player taken.
  5.  Quick Super Bowl MVP quiz for you.  Part one.  Five players have won more than one Super Bowl MVP.  Starr is one.   You get no credit for guessing Tom Brady who is two as he is the only one to have won four.  Who are the other three?  Joe Montana has won three.   Terry Bradshaw and Eli Manning have won the award twice.   Part two.  Who are the only two to have won it in back to back years?  Starr and Bradshaw are the only ones to have won it in back-to-back years.
  6. Quick MLB quiz for you.  Part One.   America’s pastime has completed roughly three innings of their nine inning regular season.  Which team has the best record?  It’s the Minnesota Twins.  They have a gaudy 36-17 record, a very gaudy 10 game lead over second place Cleveland in their division, and have hit a seriously gaudy 105 home runs.  Part two.  Who is the hottest team of all?  It’s the Oakland A’s.  Quickly and quietly they’ve won ten in a row.  Despite a very modest payroll they wouldn’t go away last year winning an impressive 97 games.  It looks like they want in again this year.  Their pitching staff has an MLB fourth best 3.35 ERA.  Real estate is about location, location, and location.  Baseball is about pitching, pitching, and pitching.
  7.  When a minor leaguer makes his major league debut it’s a special moment no matter his pedigree.   Hundreds of thousands have tried and come up short.  When a “journeyman” finally gets a chance it’s very special.  Twenty eight year old, and seven season minor leaguer, Jack Mayfield got his chance yesterday.  Multiple injuries to the Houston Astros left virtually no one to play second base.  Up from Round Rock AAA came Jack.  Yesterday, Memorial Day, before a sellout home field crowd of 42,000 fans, Mayfield roped a stand up double off of the left field wall in his very first at bat.  An astute cameramen and director had a camera on his wife and mom of his seventeen month toddler in the stands.  Want to see what unbridled joy looks like?  You can see it right here.  MasterCard used to call moments like this “priceless.”
  8. Bill Buckner died yesterday at the way too young age of 69. His “ball through the legs” moment v. the New York Mets in game six of the 1986 World Series unfortunately dominates most people’s memory of him.  Too bad. Loved by teammates, he was one of the good ones on and off of the field.  On the field Buckner slugged over 2,700 hits in his career that spanned 22 seasons with five teams.  He won the batting title in 1980.  And he had a mustache, eye brows, and coif of hair for the ages.
  9. The Boston Bruins scored two unanswered goals in the third period and won game one of the Stanley Cup finals 4-2 over the St. Louis Blues.  It’s only game one, but it might have Blues fans singing the blues.  In 77.6 percent of all Stanley Cup Finals the team who skated to victory in game one has taken home the Cup.  But, this is no ordinary St. Louis Blues team.  Stay tuned.
  10. The Golden State Warriors are heavy favorites to win yet another NBA Championship.  They get after the Toronto Raptors in their own game one on Thursday night.  The Warriors are -300.  What does that mean?  It means you have to bet $300 to win $100 on Golden St.  However, game one is in Toronto and the Raptors are favored in that game by one.

It’s already Tuesday.  It’s just 24 hours to Hump Day.  You got this.

Ten Piece Nuggets-Sports

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

Back in the day, Monday was known as “wash day” in New Orleans.  It became popular to slow cook red beans, lots of seasonings, and rice that day while moms cleaned the house and washed the clothes.  Yum.   Monday on BBR is becoming known as Ten Piece Nuggets day as multiple sports in the late Spring season gives us plenty to season ourselves.  Help yourself below.

  1.  Brooks Koepka owned the largest 54 hole lead in PGA history after three rounds.  After four consecutive back nine bogeys, and a three under (at the time) round going for Dustin Johnson, the lead shriveled to two.   Was Koepka on the verge of a Greg Norman 1996 Master’s meltdown?  Perhaps.  But the brutal Bethpage Black course and gusts to 35 mph late in the afternoon didn’t discriminate.  It  handed out bogeys to all from punishing places the course over.  Koepka held on, as DJ faltered, to win his fourth major in his last eight starts.
  2.  Koepka boldly spoke before the PGA about winning ten or more majors.  He has openly told coaches and players that he’s better than Tiger was and he might win 18 or more.  Koepka doesn’t rhyme with confidence, but it may be a synonym for it.  At the current pace of winning every other one he’ll have ten down in early 2022.  “Not so fast my friend,” Lee Corso just said.  Regardless, with the win Koepka moved to the number one ranking in the world.  He becomes the first golfer ever to hold two back to back major titles simultaneously.
  3.  Koepka’s former coach at Florida St. weighs in like a heavyweight.   Doug Malloy, now the head coach at his alma mater, Ole Miss, believes Koepka is upset nobody is taking him seriously as a threat to Jack Nicklaus’ record of 18 major titles.  “It pisses him off that he isn’t asked that question,” said Malloy. “That will make him feel great if you ask him about Jack. I promise you he absolutely thinks of both Tiger’s 15 majors and Jack’s as targets. That’s not 99 percent, it’s 100 percent. Guaranteed.”  We need to order some of whatever supplements he is taking.  The US Open starts 6/15 at Pebble Beach.
  4.  From good golf we turn to good baseball.  Good baseball is exactly what the Yankees have been playing for the past month. Since April 19, they are 20-7, earning the best record in the big leagues across that span.  The Yankees have notched that record while a bevy of key players have spent time on the injured list. In all, 17 Yankees have landed on the IL this season.  They took two of three from the AL East’s division leader Tampa Bay over the weekend and also took over the division lead.
  5.  More good baseball was on tap this weekend as the Houston Astros took two of three from the once slumping, suddenly hot, defending 2018 World Series champs, the Boston Red Sox.  Until yesterday’s loss the Stros had won ten in a row for the second time this season.  Houston’s month of May to date, winning 13 of 14 starts, is the best record in the big leagues across that span.  The Astros own the best record in the AL at 31-16.
  6. Good baseball wasn’t limited to the East either. Hyun-Jin Ryu, pitcher extraordinaire for the LA Dodgers, pitched seven shutout innings to lower his season ERA to 1.52, or half of his career ERA of 3.03. In his nine 2019 starts spanning 59 innings he has given up a stingy ten earned runs.  They have scored game by game as follows, 1,2,2,2,2,1,0,0, and 0.  He extended his scoreless streak to 31 innings.  Hyun-Jin Ryu doesn’t rhyme with Cy Young Award, but it may be a synonym for it.  The Dodgers own the best record in the NL at 31-17.
  7. The Dodgers lead the NL West by 5.5 games over the Arizona Diamondbacks.  It’s early, way early, but will they even look back at the division want to be’s?  The Astros lead the AL West by 8.5 games over the Angels of LA.   It’s early, way early, but will they even look back at the division want to be’s?
  8.  We think that run differential in MLB is a telling stat.  It’s simply how many total runs have you scored season to date minus how many runs have you given up.  If the difference is in the black, you likely have a winning record.  If it’s in the red, you likely have a losing record.  The MLB leader at plus 92 is Houston.  The surprisingly good, and in first in the AL Central, Minnesota Twins are second at plus 74.  The LA Dodgers are third at plus 65.  Somehow Pittsburgh has a 24-20 record with a minus 39 runs scored.  We guess they win close games and lose blowouts.  That doesn’t sound too good for the long summer nights ahead.
  9. A week ago we liked Golden St. in six or less over Portland in the NBA West Conference Championship.  A week ago we liked Milwaukee in six or less over Toronto in the East Conference Championship.  A week later we like what we liked.  Golden St. is going to close out Portland in four tonight.  Milwaukee will take Toronto in five, or six at the max, by week’s end.
  10. We don’t follow boxing.  We think fewer and fewer do.  Therefore we wouldn’t recognize Deontay Wilder or Dominic Breazeale if they were walking down the street next to us.  That said Deontay introduced himself to Dominic in their bout in round one Saturday night in Brooklyn.  It’s as vicious of a one punch TKO as you’ll ever see.  Want to see it?  Click here.  Be forewarned.  It’s brutal.  Want to see it in slow motion?  You can in that same link.  Be forewarned.  It’s even more brutal in slow mo.

That was a lot to chew on.  Be sure to brush regularly.

 

Ten Piece Nuggets-Sports

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

Happy Mother’s Day a day late to all of the moms out there.  Did you go to the local buffet yesterday to celebrate?  If so, it’s time to get back to a healthier lifestyle.  The Ten Piece Nuggets below will get you your Monday start of the week nutritional balance you are searching for.

  1. When Kawhi Leonard’s heave from the corner sent Toronto to Milwaukee and Philadelphia home for the summer it was, believe it or not, the first ever game winning shot at the buzzer in NBA history in a game seven regulation win.  None other than Michael Jordan with “the shot” sunk the Cleveland Cavaliers in the last second of their winner take all game in 1989.  But.  Air Jordan’s shot ended a then five game first round playoff series. Kawhi poured in 41 points in all.
  2. There should be no shame in the land of cheese steak sammies, but there are questions.  Philadelphia’s starting five is very talented. But they actually  only started 21 games together this season.  That said, three of the five starters including Jimmy Butler, Tobias Harris and JJ Redick are headed toward free agency. The Sixers’ coach, Brett Brown will have to answer to the high expectations laid out by Sixers co-owner Josh Harris in March.
  3. For the first time since 2000, the Portland Trailblazers are heading to the Western Conference finals.  They got there by completing the largest comeback in a Game 7 in the past 20 years.  The Blazers overcame a 39-22 deficit with 7:26 remaining in the second quarter.  It was the largest deficit erased in a Game 7 since the Los Angeles Lakers, led by Shaquille O’Neal, came back from 16 down against the Trailblazers, of all teams, in the 2000 conference finals. C.J. McCollum poured in 37 points and had an epic run down from behind block down the stretch.  Too bad for Denver as we love their nickname-Nuggets, of course.
  4.  So the conference finals are set.  And, the NBA hopes that you will turn on your TV set.  It’s the seventh largest TV market (SF/Oak) hosting the 22nd (Portland) in the west.  In the east it’s the 38th (Milwaukee) biggest market hosting a team (Toronto) from north of the border.  Eh!  If the two series are as entertaining as the two that finished yesterday in seven games perhaps the ratings will be ok.
  5. Ratings that should not be ok are the ones that measure the ESPN NBA show.  The five headed monster lead by Michelle Beadle on ESPN is a real downer after enjoying the insight and antics of Ernie, Shaq, Kenny, and the Chuckster on TNT.  Do you know what the ESPN broadcast has in common with the TNT one?  Absolutely nothing.
  6.  Paul Pierce predicted on ESPN, after Boston battered Milwaukee in game one, that the Celtics would sweep the Bucks out of the playoffs 4-0.  He got the 4-0 right as Milwaukee won the next four in a row to win the series 4-1.  Yesterday prognosticator Paul Pierce predicted that the Trailblazers would win game seven v. Denver.   They did.  This proves that you can guess a coin flip right 1/2 of the time.
  7.  Portland is an early eight point underdog in game one v. Golden St. and almost a 4 to 1 underdog to win the west.  Meanwhile Toronto is a 6.5 point underdog in game one v. Milwaukee and about a 2 1/2 to 1 underdog to win the east.  Give us Golden St. in six or less and Milwaukee in six or less.
  8. Did you know that the PGA Tour stopped in Dallas this week for the Byron Nelson Classic?  Did you know that Sung Kang won his first PGA tournament?  Do you even know who he is?  We understand.  It’s likely that the PGA has sung the ratings blues since Tiger took Augusta by storm.    Sung sang like a birdie or ten on Friday though as he shot a low low 61 (par there is 71) to get to the lofty perch.
  9. Don’t look now, but the suddenly red hot Houston Astros have jumped to a 6.5 games lead in the MLB AL West.  Two weeks in they trailed the Seattle Mariners by 5 games.  Seattle has put it in reverse since then. In winning eight of their last nine games, the Astros are averaging 8.2 runs per game.  This includes a strong 2.9 home runs per game. They reached double-digit hits six times in those nine games. In the four game just completed sweep of the Texas Rangers they won by a combined score of 33-11.  Baseball is only near the first quarter pole, but in a weak AL West the Stros might not look back.
  10.  The answer is $1,691,008 and 22.  What is  “James Holtzhauer’s winnings to date on Jeopardy and how many shows in a row has he won.”  “Correct, Alex says.  “Select again.”   He’s chasing 2.5 million and 74 wins in a row to unseat the best ever, Ken Jennings.   He’ll get past the money way before the win total given how much he bets on every daily double.  He’s rewritten the strategy for the game.   Several MLB teams have taken note of him given the surge towards analytics and risk analysis in the strategy of the game as it is played today.   And, no, we aren’t kidding.

It’s Monday.  It’s just five working days till the weekend.  You’ll get through it.  You got your day off to a good start with a healthy crunch above.

 

Gambling With Silver Risks No Coin.

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

One day after the Boston Celtics received an Academy Award nomination for best portrayal of another team (the Washington Generals) in a five game NBA semifinal playoff series, the executive director of this long running reality TV show took to the microphone.  Adam Silver, NBA Commissioner, answered questions at the Economic Club of Washington DC.

When asked about the current referees, the future of refereeing, and women in the sport he bellowed, “ … the goal is, going forward, it should be roughly 50-50 of new officials entering in the league, same for coaches by the way.  There’s no reason why women shouldn’t be coaching men’s basketball.”

Liz Roscher, Yahoo Sports writer, who we assumed covered the event, then wrote this, “Of course, words will only take Silver and the NBA so far. He can say he wants there to be a 50-50 gender split among coaches and referees, but it won’t happen by itself. Silver will have to work to make this happen with every team in the NBA. The sentiment is admirable, but it only matters if he backs it up with action.”

And she wrote this about San Antonio Spurs assistant coach Becky Hammon’s May 2018 interview for the then vacant Milwaukee Bucks head coaching job, “Even though she didn’t end up getting the job, it was progress.”

We have to wonder.  Is Silver, who has been at the forefront of embracing gambling getting cozy with the NBA, taking a no downside, calculated gamble with this position?  And if he “backs it up with action” against his goal as Roscher puts, is it really “progress” as she describes it?

After all, where would you stop the need for gender equity?   And is it progress, with progress defined as a better officiated league?  Or is it only different?  Or, is it only what sounds good in today’s environment?

All be it a bit dated, a search for WNBA referees discovered that only 12 of 34 were female as of 2017.  Silver told the group assembled at the Economic Club that he’s not sure why NBA officiating remained male-dominated for so long, since “certainly there’s no benefit to being a man, as opposed to a woman when it comes to refereeing.”  Hmmm.

Could it be that women have less interest than men in refereeing? Could it be that there are far less women refereeing, officiating, or umpiring from pee wee ball to the pros in every sport?

With the boys now able to join the girl scouts and the girls now able to join to the boy scouts, should there even be a WNBA and a NBA Mr. Commissioner?  Ah, perhaps that is where he would draw the line.

You see the WNBA total revenue for 2018 was estimated at 60 million.  The average salary for the 137 players in the High Post Hoops WNBA salary database was $77,878 this past season. Given this average, all the players in the WNBA were paid an estimated $12.3 million this past season, or roughly half of what Chris Paul is earning yearly to mail it in nightly for the Houston Rockets in the annual futile chase of the Golden State Warriors.  Forbes estimates that the 2017-2018 NBA season league revenue was 7.4 billion.  That’s billion, with a “B,” as opposed to the WNBA, with 60 million, with an “M.”

So, could it be that women (and men) have far less interest in watching women play basketball?  So, could it be that women have far less interest in refereeing  men’s basketball too?  And, finally, could it be that women have far less interest in coaching men’s basketball as well?

BBR has nothing whatsoever against women achieving the highest levels in any boardroom, profession, or sport.  We just want anyone of any gender to earn it.  But in certain areas, maybe they are perfectly happy with the old school phrase “that’s a man’s job.”

Adam Silver, are you are trying too hard on this one?  We’d bet that you are.