Random Sports Stories

1

It was 2010 and we were in the backyard at Dwyce. It might have even been the night that I took "Picture 1000" with the new Cannon:

We were having some beers and talking with one of Rachel's people, somebody we ended up befriending, and friending on the Facebook. His name is Geoff and he's a good guy, even if the stink of BRO is all over him. It's the same way that Texans can smell the stink of CALIBOY on me.

Anyway, this was during the time before LeBron James had had his (ill-advised) Television special "The Decision," when he announced he would be leaving Cleveland and "taking his talents to South Beach." If ever a cheesedick quote was made for TV, that was a stellar example.

That night I was sure he would be sticking around Cleveland---he's from Akron and hd been the gold boy since early high school.

This guy Geoff pretty much halted the conversation in a very BRO-y way: "Nah, nah. He's going to Miami. He's going to join Dwayne Wade and Bosh and they're gonna kick ass for a while." This was before Chris Bosh had even signed if I remember correctly.

I remember thinking Fuck you, Geee-Offf. Then "The Decision" happened and, of course, Geoff was right.

Fast-forward six years, and we're at the next biggest moment for free agency in the NBA. Kevin Durant, one of the three best players in the NBA and (formerly) the starting point-forward (if such a thing exists) for the Oklahoma City Thunder, spends a few days taking meetings with a handful of hand-picked teams in a palatial Hamptons spread. He meets with the Clippers, the Celtics, the Heat, the Warriors, and his own Thunder.

For nine years now, Durant has been this franchise. He was picked while they were still the Supersonics, before Clay Bennett stole the team from Seattle and moved them to OKC. I have many people I love in OKC and don't begrudge them their love of their team, but that was a sheisty deal at best.

Durant took the meetings, was "blown away" by the Clippers, recognized the value of the Celtics offer, listened intently to Pat Riley, and imagined another run with Rusty in OKC.

He released his statement on The Player's Tribune (incidentally the website started by Derek Jeter after he retired from baseball): Kevin Durant would be joining the Golden State Warriors.

Being a northern California guy living in southern California has been difficult at times. Folks here take the weather for granted. They don't respect, on the whole, revolutionary intellectual pursuits like you get in Berkeley or the City. They don't read (that may be a west coast complaint coming from an east coast POV).

I've celebrated the San Francisco Giants World Series victories. The Sacramento Kings have Boogie Cousins (awesome) but in general are in a constant state of flux. The Dubs, playing over in Oakland, are fantastic, have the greatest shooter ever in Steph Curry (he just made 403 three-pointers!), have a top-five shooter ever in Klay Thompson, and just finished the greatest regular season ever, winning 73 games out of a possible 82,

They won more games than the best Jordan Bulls team. 

They also lost the finals to LeBron and his sheer will power.

The greatest regular season team ever just added one of the three best players in the game in his prime.

Next year in basketball will be silly.

2

I started reading an article about three NFL teams that will be interesting this season, if not actually contenders for the Ring. One of the teams was my Giants, specifically because of their additions on their defensive line, and in general the upgrades made to their abysmal defense.

One line caught my attention: Dick LeBeau is the new defensive coordinator of the Tennessee Titans.

Dick LeBeau spent the last decade-and-a-half (I think) as the defensive coordinator of the Pittsburgh Steelers, and is well known for his exotic blitzing schemes. I'd forgotten he was such an integral part of today's NFL.

He was a defensive player for this team:

He played on the Detroit Lions in 1963 (fifty-three years ago!), the year that George Plimpton showed up to pretend to be a QB and write about the National Football League and the experience of being a player.

That's my copy and it's a pretty cool read. One of the main things I took from it was: Holy shit, they would never in one-billion years let anyone do this again.

Hell, Goodell's power got Bill Simmons fired, so...sheeeeeiiittt.

3

In the past I have been supportive of the new playoff system, with two Wild Card teams and a play-in game. Why, I felt, should we be against things that make the game more exciting?

I wasn't the only person who felt this way.

But one unintended consequence of this setup is the unusually large number of teams "in the playoff hunt." This means that less teams will be in a "selling" mood when it comes time to the trade deadline at the end of July.

One exciting time of year (the trade deadline) is supplanted for another (meaningful games being played in September).

That's good, I suppose.

I just have to be okay with my middling Yankees, who don't totally suck at 42-43, and are "in the hunt" and won't flip good relievers for future talent...