Weekend winners (three from the NBA; two from elsewhere)
Brooklyn Nets. This one is easy friends. How big were the additions of Kyrie, KD and DeAndre Jordan? One former Nets front-office member and Richard Jefferson, who played on the Nets teams in the early 2000s that made back-to-back NBA Finals trips, said Sunday was easily the biggest day in franchise history. Yes, that’s an indictment on the history of the franchise too, but you get the idea.
Utah. The trade for Mike Conley is part of this too, but the Jazz are arguably the best team in the NBA on paper, even if they are the NBA’s worst nightmare for an NBA Finals participant. A starting lineup of Conley, Donovan Mitchell, Boran Bogdanovic, Joe Ingles and Rudy Gobert makes other NBA execs drool and TV look away. Depending on what the Lakers add – whether it’s Kawhi or a collection of valuable pieces – the Jazz are right there as a favorite to get out of the West.
The Pacers. Not only did they add Malcolm Brogdan, the sneaky-best player available not among the super-duper stars in this free agency cycle, they also took the Bucks’ second-best piece. That’s addition by addition and addition by subtraction. Plus, when they get Victor Oladipo back, those two will give the best backcourt in the NBA no one knows about.
Nate Lashley. Dude got his first PGA Tour win Sunday in a runaway. It made for bad sports TV. It made for great emotional movie made for TV. A plane crash killed his parents and girlfriend in 2004 and almost caused him to quit the game of golf. He has been on the fringe of losing his card and got into this tournament when someone else pulled out. And now, a win and a life changed. I’m not crying, you’re crying.
Max Scherzer. Wow, dude is a bona fide dude. His line Sunday: eight innings, four hits, one earned 14 Ks. His line for June: 45 innings, 25 hits, five earned and 68 Ks. I’ll say it again.
Weekend losers (three from the NBA; two from elsewhere)
James Dolan. Man, the Knicks are taking shots from every barrel and from every angle. (Side note: I can make an argument in a basketball sense that having reservations about a 30-year-old perimeter scorer who will not play for a year and has the worst injury a basketball player can have has merit.) But the lack of sizzle and the lack of future stars to add, Dolan needed a big Sunday – especially after saying they would ‘definitely pay them’ in terms of stars – and he failed. And to make it worse, the team across the river has gone from the worst roster and situation three years ago to a team that has championship aspirations in 2020-21.
Boston. I’m OK with the Kemba Walker-for-Terry Rozier deal, but the collective view has to be with this perspective: Two years ago, the Celtics had the best roster 1-through-9, the best collection of picks and roster assets, and legit championship dreams. Now, a starting five of Walker, Jayson Tatum, Marcus Smart, Gordon Hayward and Richard Williams is no better than the fourth or fifth best in the East next year.
City of L.A. Yes, the thought is that Kawhi is headed to one of the L.A. teams, and that will change thew fortunes of either the Clippers or the Lakers. And you have to wonder how many of the next level guys will still be there for the Lakers if Kawhi decides to go somewhere else. We’ll see.
Taylor Swift. This story paints a harsh picture of the record business and how Swift’s career catalog has been bought by a former manager/music exec who acquired a what I’d bet is $1 billion worth of Swift’s career work for $300 million. (That was not paid to her by the way.) Yes, Swift is never going to have to pass the hat or work at the Waffle House anytime soon. But having your career bought by someone you view as a professional and personal enemy, well, that’s a tough blow. (And heckle Swift all you want, and she’s never going to be confused with Whitney or Mariah anytime soon, but she has a true gift as a songwriter connecting with this generation of young people.)
Red Sox. Not only did they have to go to London, but they got swept by the hated Yankees, who hit something like 14,301 homers over the weekend. Plus, a couple of deserving Red Sox were snubbed in the all-star process.
Halfway through 2019
Crazy right, that we’re halfway through 2019.
Crazier still is in 2020, I will be 50. And no, there will not be a 50-at-10, although sometimes it reads that long. (Beat you to that joke Spy.)
It’s funny to try to peg the most, best, biggest list of the first half of the year.
But we’re here to try to do just that.
Biggest sports story: It has to be Tiger at Augusta. Has to be. It moved him a step closer to Jack. It made for TV magic. It made golf the talk of the sports world – something that really only Tiger has been able to do since the peaks of Arnie and Jack. Most importantly, it provided the final scene of Tiger’s 30-for-30. The kids, his mother, the emotions. The full circle -22 years after saying “Hello World” Tiger at the same place – one of the all-time venues in all of sports – kind of got to say Hello again. And thank you.
Best sports team: I’d lean toward the Patriots here. Every time you think they are about to take a step back, they figure out a way to win an AFC title game on the road and then handcuffed the ‘it’ head coach and his fancy, shiny offense. Brady was the most accomplished QB all-time before adding another Super Bowl in February, but the exclamation point here is that Bill Belichick > every other NFL coach ever.
Most predictable sports outcome: Rafael Nadal winning at the French Open is like a fat kid smiling as they head to Shoney’s breakfast bar. (Skei question: Does Shoney’s still have the breakfast bar? Because for a certain collection of us of a certain age can remember that a Saturday morning with those mini-blueberry muffins and all the bacon you could shovel was as close to Heaven’s breakfast as a Southern boy could get. Any surprise that I battled some ‘husky’ issues as a child?)
Most intriguing sports upset: No this is not a team, this is a state. New Jersey had more money wagered on sports in May than Nevada did. Yes, you read that correctly. Don’t cry any tears for Nevada – the stats I saw said that the casino’s revenue on slot machines was almost $300 million; the revenue on sports wagers for New Jersey and Nevada was just south of $12 million – friends.
Worst finish, regular season: Hey, I’m LeBron fan. (If we had to rank my nonsensical sports crushes, we’d go, Draft – we love the draft; you know this – the Masters and King James.) But the implosion that was the finish to LeBron’s first season in L.A. was awful. And it will be a lasting mark on his resume when the discussion comes up of James’ place among the all-timers
Worst finish, postseason: Tie, Alabama football and Duke hoops. Both were toppled before the brass ring. Both will be back.
Worst finish, historic perspective: Not sure the NBA will have another dynasty like the Warriors anytime soon because of all the movements and the AAU, super-team approach to building a champion, but the final chapter of the Golden State dynasty was very unfulfilling.
Wildest roller coaster: I’m OK if you have the Lakers here, considering that the Lakers were the 4 seed after a Christmas Day whipping of the Warriors, plummeted, panicked, looked around and Magic quit, then as the dumpster fire looked to be hitting Chernobyl levels, they add Anthony Davis for the best 1-2 since Magic and Kareem. But the ride the Braves have been on – high hopes of free agent moves and nothing, a dreadful start in Philly, a meandering first 35-40 games, a torrid offensive eruption since May 10, adding Dallas Keuchel but not Craig Kimbrel – gets the my nod for proximity.
Biggest sign of the times (and please note I did not say best): We mentioned a lot of the moving and shaking from Day 1 of NBA free agency. It was head-spinning, and proved yet against Adrian Wojnarowski is doing work. But, in the grand scheme of things, has there ever been a more definite example that the enjoyment of the transaction in the NBA has any the very least matched if not surpassed the enjoyment of the action.
This and that
– Side question apropos of nothing: OK, have you seen the new Domino’s ad pitch for pizza insurance? Side question on the side question: Who in a million years would buy pizza insurance? Seriously, fess up. You will not be judged. (Much.)
– Cool story here from TFP ace sports columnist Mark Wiedmer. (Like there’s any other kind of Weeds story, right?) Kudos Vonn Bell for giving back to the hometown.
– OK, it’s easy to forget the Braves dominated the Mets over the weekend because of the way the series ended Sunday night as the Mets avoided a three-game sweep with a five-run eighth for an 8-5 win. We mentioned about the pivot the Braves have made over the last six weeks, but the bullpen collapse will always be the boogieman under the collective bed of Johnny Braves Fan everywhere.
– If you are wondering, Vegas after free agency has the Lakers and the Bucks are the top two favorites to win the NBA title.
Today’s questions
Weekend winners and losers, who you got?
As for today, July 1, well the Battle of Gettysburg was today in 1863.
Your thoughts on the storylines of the first half of 2019? Please share.
To that point, who makes the Rushmore across all sports of the 2019 (so far)?
Go.