So It Begins… Cavaliers-Celtics Game 1: Behind the Box Score
April 19, 2015Cavalier Film Room: Love in the post(season)
April 20, 2015Happy Monday, you guys. How good does it feel to have playoff basketball back in the city of Cleveland? The last four years, all we’ve had to cling to at this time of year was the potential for temperatures in the 60s. Now, we get those sweet spring days but now with more championship potential. So many good things to take away from Sunday’s big win: LeBron James, playoff form; Kyrie Irving, born to be on the big stage; Kevin Love, silencing doubters, at least for one more day; James Jones, stepping up when needed; David Blatt, breaking from his eight-man rotation and making the absolute right calls when foul trouble crept up; The Big 3 addressing the media together following the win… I could go on and on.
Was the win perfect? Far from it. I’d rather not be down at all let alone by eight in the second quarter, but beggars, choosers. Focusing on concerns is no way to live when you have a team with a legit chance at bringing home the first banner in over 50 years. I didn’t get to attend this one live as responsibilities can oftentimes be the worst, but I’ll be there Tuesday night covering the festivities from front to back and I cannot wait.
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So Tim Tebow is back in the NFL. I care very little about analysis surrounding his impact with the Eagles. I care even less about his reuniting with Mark Sanchez, who I assume is thrilled about his inability to escape the sideshow. What I do care about, however, is the fact that Tebow, an ESPN employee, is the focal point of a story that was broken by FOX Sports’ Jay Glazer. How does this happen?
Scoopage: The Eagles are plannng to bring in Tim Tebow and sign him tomorrow as they begin their offseason program FOX SPORTS has learned
— Jay Glazer (@JayGlazer) April 19, 2015
Again: How does this happen? I sit here attempting to come up with an analogy to my day-to-day life, but everything that comes to mind pales in comparison. And before anyone attempt to pretend or justify some line of thinking that ESPN didn’t want that scoop or preferred to avoid some conflict of interest—just stop. ESPN was furious when Yahoo Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski broke the news of Mike Brown (an ESPN employee at the time) heading to the Cavaliers. They wanted that story, and it was broken by their rival competitor on the NBA front. This story, potentially bigger, was broken by the one-man wrecking crew on the NFL side of the ledger.
Kudos to Adam Schefter for handling this news the right way, as much as I’m sure his bosses would’ve preferred him citing “media reports.”
Yes, Tim Tebow deal is happening in Philadelphia, as @JayGlazer reported.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) April 19, 2015
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No spoilers, but I’m pumped to see the return of Creepy Glen to the Mad Men fold. Now with more sideburns. I can’t believe there are only five more episodes left.
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Anyone else find it a bit odd that Taylor Swift was presented with a Milestone Award for a genre of music in which she does not sing? Not to mention, a genre which roasted her not all that long ago?
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Taking an extinguisher to those baseless hot takes, here’s this week’s edition of #ActualSportswriting
“The Ghosts I Run With” by Matt Tullis (SB Nation): “You can’t survive a children’s cancer ward and not remember the kids you knew who didn’t make it. Terri. Laura Jo. Shelby. Little John. All of them wonderful in their own right and worthy of being remembered forever. All of them ghosts now, wisps of light running beside me mile after mile after mile.”1
“Jameis Winston is on the clock” by Kurt Streeter (ESPN The Magazine): “What do we make of this prodigy nicknamed Jaboo (pronounced Jay-Boo), a sobriquet from his mother? How do we square the man with the kid, reconcile his mature talent with the things he has done — immature and entitled at least, inexcusable at worst?
How do we reconcile the youngster so driven that by sixth grade he was filling notebooks with complex offensive plays, so academically accomplished that he was accepted to Stanford, with the Florida State quarterback he became, cited for shoplifting crab legs, punished for jumping onto a campus table and shouting the crude Internet meme “F— her right in the p—-!” and — most seriously — accused of, though not charged with, raping a female student.”2
“Blue Chips: An Oral History of Shaq, Penny and the Orlando Magic’s Lost NBA Dynasty” by Jonathan Abrams (Grantland): “Perhaps no NBA team has ever featured two players more marketable than O’Neal and Hardaway. The two filmed Blue Chips together and became dueling campaign faces for Nike and Reebok. O’Neal had his wide smile and an outsize personality to match his towering physique. Hardaway was more reserved, but possessed that unforgettable nickname and a Chris Rock–voiced alter ego to talk trash for him. The possibilities seemed endless, as if the championship rings and parades would be a formality.”3
“The Boston Olympic Debacle” by Charles P. Pierce (Grantland): “Let’s say, for example, that you want to watch a little badminton at Agganis Arena at Boston University, and then figure you’ll catch a little modern pentathlon at Franklin Park. You’d best leave your dental records with your loved ones back in Amsterdam so they can identify your desiccated corpse when it’s found in an abandoned cab halfway between the two venues.”4
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And finally, John Oliver discusses a special kind of troll: Those who file patents solely for the ability to later sue individuals for infringing.
That’s all from WFNY® on this Merry Monday. Be good, kids.
- An incredibly touching story by a professor from my Alma Mater of Ashland University. Whether you’re a runner or not, this one is worth the read. [↩]
- While this is likely to be one of many stories on the question marks looming above the head of Winston, few will be as well done as this one. [↩]
- Jonathan Abrams’ byline is an automatic click. The fact that this one is about one of my favorite teams growing up in the 90s and is beautifully laid out makes it all the better. [↩]
- Figured I’d end this week’s edition with some commentary. Plus, any chance to read Pierce is one worth taking. [↩]
26 Comments
The Tribe are gonna be fine. The Tribe are gonna be fine. The Tribe are gonna be fine…
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Glad Glen returns to Mad Men.
Seems to be a weird level of hostility going around by those who dislike the show. I mean, I don’t love love love Star Wars, but I don’t begrudge those fixated on it and don’t slam the series for its predictable formula. So Mad Men boring to some, fine. But you can at least admit that the acting and writing are first rate and nuanced, even if the rest leaves you cold. Maybe the overt hostility is because they see rabid fans of the show the way I see some Mac people: there’s no conversation on the subject without attempted forced conversions..
Ahhh, Tim Tebow, the irrelevant ex-football player who has cast a spell over the media that they are powerless to resist, who is famous for being famous, who receives media coverage because he receives media coverage. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.
Speaking of ESPN and irrelevance, here’s what that towing-lot attendant should have said to Britt McHenry:
“WHAT???? You’re dissing ME? You’re a SIDELINE REPORTER!!! Think about that, honey! A sideline reporter is the most pointless job on earth. And you’re PROUD of it! Hey, Barbie, at least I do something useful, you gigantic waste of protoplasm and hair spray!
High five for incorporating “protoplasm” into an insult!
she wouldn’t understand “protoplasm.” Maybe substitute “sparkle lotion”?
The show is fantastic. The character development is among the best I’ve seen. Sure, there are *better* shows, historically and perhaps even present day, but I’m legitimately bummed that this one is almost over.
We don’t panic in April around here. Even with all of these early division games. Even if the offense looks like it would struggle in tee ball, and the defense continues its charitable ways. At least the starting pitching is largely what we’d hoped for.
Like anything else that receives mega-hype, the push back is to be expected. I made it through almost two seasons before it just stopped being all that important to me. I’ll likely go back and binge through it at some point once its over, but it never captured me. Same with The Americans, Justified, Sons of Anarchy, How to Get Away with Murder, Fargo…no beef with any of them, and they have/had huge hype and followings. But few things lock me in from start to finish these days.
I miss The West Wing.
Amen. The Tebow talk is even worse down here, where St. Timothy of Gainesville is worshiped as intensely as ever by all of the Gator disciples. Nothing of football relevance will come of his time, likely brief, in Philly. Looking forward to his return to his network, where he can be ignored with minimal effort.
It’s in my top 5 shows ever. Most appreciative that the creator has avoided any temptation to alter any character’s development in order to increase viewership. I mean, the Betty Drapers of the ’60s never, ever burned their bras or stopped hiring housekeepers.
I tried Sons of Anarchy but didn’t get any real traction. Either the characters and storylines suck you in or they don’t. I always know after 3 episodes or so. Mad Men spoke to me immediately but it’s so idiosyncratic that I totally get others thinking it’s just a very anal, 2-dimensional attempt to capture something they find boring to begin with.
Even with the things that I do get hooked on, I tend to fall behind for a bit, then catch back up in bursts. Binge watching has just become more enjoyable to me than week-to-week, stilted watching. Sure, it means avoiding some twitter chatter, but I manage.
Almost down-voted for implying that tow companies “do something useful”.
same here. If the show actually has a plot it’s easier to binge a little. And of course fits my on the go lifestyle (as they say in the commercials).
I actually agree on all the shows you cited, except for The Americans. Even just the character development of people supposedly trying to advocate or push for the fall of Capitalism all while living under its trappings… I find it so cerebrally interesting. Add in the family aspects of the show which highlights the costs of the “heros and villains” in terms of their personal lives… it’s fascinatingly good, IMHO.
(Not really almost down-voted. I actually agree with the sentiment for the most part.)
Agree on all counts. But it simply doesn’t have me locked in week to week. At this point, my only “appointment viewing” is probably Grey’s Anatomy, and that’s a long-established habit. Had the show just started in recent years, that might not be the case. Even Game of thrones, which I love, is not something I watch immediately each week. So this may all be more a function of my schedule rather than a statement on show quality.
Supernatural used to be appointment viewing, but man is this season (and last) dragging.
Well, OK, I can’t say *any* show outside of Walking Dead has been “appointment viewing” for me since Breaking Bad went away, and if TWD wasn’t on Sunday nights it might not be (stuff always comes up during the week). That said, my wife and I find time to watch The Americans each week before the next one hits the DVR.
I know many who obsess on the Walking Dead. Tried one episode and that was enough. I just don’t do gore very well. Breaking Bad was another that I got a couple seasons into and drifted away. Not a bad show at all, just didn’t take root all that deeply for me.
I’d hardly call myself a hater, but I really don’t get the Mad Men hype. While I won’t knock the acting, I haven’t found the writing all that impressive. Of course, I’m not impressed with most TV shows. I will say though that I’d put Mad Men along with a few other shows ahead of your run of the mill stuff like Sons of Anarchy.
I am a huge fan of the show too, but don’t you think this last season (especially the start of this portion/first two eps) have kind of been anticlimactic or generally a bit substandard?
Not to give away any spoilers or get into specifics, but the storylines now are just puzzling, and I’m not even sure what we’re building to anymore with anyone. With Breaking Bad, the thing just steadily rose to a crescendo with the finale. I mean, perfect and maybe a bit unfair of a comparison. But here, I have an uneasy feeling that they dragged it on a bit too long or got too far afield with the sub story lines.
PS. As a side note, I love how Weiner cast his son as Creepy Glen. Always thought that was funny he made his son play a weirdo.
see, I think this last season has been one of the show’s best, almost impossibly perfect in shepherding each character in a different way through a chaotically changing world. And the fantasy song and dance by Bert Cooper one of the most devastating scenes on tv, ever – was risky and could have been laughably bad but it worked perfectly for those who have followed the story from the start.
Yeah I agree that they’ve done a good job of developing all of the characters to this point (and I loved the Bert Cooper finale btw), so I guess my criticism is just specific to Don. We’ve seen the multiple falls and rises, the cycle from betraying a flawed wife & family to then corrupting and betraying an innocent wife. We’ve seen him professionally get kicked in the teeth and rise up again. In the scheme of story arcs, is this divorce/loneliness/waitress the final nadir? We’ll see, but right now, it looks like we’ve seen a bit of this Don before. Where it goes from here will be interesting.
Click your cleats too!
The video was edited you didn’t hear the attendant talking trash so she got what she deserved. And as for sideline reporting, Erin Andrews has done pretty well for herself off of it.