2021 NBA FINALS
I’m clairvoyant and we all need to get comfortable with that reality. Down 2-0 against one of the best back courts in the NBA, my Milwaukee Bucks never dropped their hands. I told you all to keep believing, to keep fearing the deer, to never doubt The Greek Freak. I can’t explain why I became so obsessed with Giannis and The Bucks my sophomore year of high school. I saw a couple of his highlight tapes from Greece and I just thought he was amazing. Secretly, I think I liked the fact that the Bucks were so bad and that Giannis was so limited in terms of his shooting. It was around the time where Golden State’s way of playing was really catching on, so I remember thinking that Giannis represented an antiquated way of playing basketball. The way that I love for it to be played, but outdated nonetheless. My fandom overall was honest, but there was definitely a part of it that stemmed from my desire to be oppositional to the changes happening in basketball. I liked that my fandom didn’t make sense. I mean, for fucks sake OJ Mayo was on that team, if that tells you anything. Anyways, my Bucks were horrible but slowly got better and after some time it wasn’t so crazy to be a fan. 2 years ago I received plenty of texts blasting me for Giannis’ performance in the ECF. It was funny to me because they forgot how far that team had come to even get there. Nonetheless, it was upsetting because - at the moment - it really felt like the parts of basketball that I most loved were rapidly dying out. I love action in the paint, I love defense, I love seeing people get put on posters. I respect small ball and the natural transitions that all sports take towards playing styles that are the most successful. I do. It’s what makes sports so interesting technically and tactically. Still, small ball pick and roll basketball just doesn’t light a fire under my ass. That’s why this championship feels so personal to me. I feel validated for holding such an intense love for a certain style of basketball. Yes, these Bucks are not the same as those in 2012-2013 and they rely greatly on the three. Nevertheless, the spirit of the team is blue collar, hard nosed. Down 2-0 they showed that. That game winning alley oop in game 5 showed that. Giannis hyperextending his knee less than a month ago showed that. Long love the Greek Freak, long live the Bucks, long live going hard in the paint, and please - for the love of God - FEAR THE GODDAMN DEAR.
UFC FIGHT NIGHT: SANDHAGEN VS. DILLASHAW
TJ ‘the snake’ Dillashaw is back after completing his 2 year substance ban from the UFC. Unfortunately for Dillashaw, he is set to face one of the scariest men in the bantamweight division. Seriously, Cory Sandhagen might have one of the most punishing styles in the UFC. Not only will he kick or knee your head off, if you’re dumb enough to take him to the ground, he will find a way to crank your kneck or some other limb in ways that it should never be cranked. The man is aggression incarnate. Just look back at his knockouts of Marlon Moraes and Frankie Edgar and let yourself be wowed. I think it could be a really, really ugly night for Dillashaw who will most certainly have ring rust after such a long hiatus. Sandhagen stops Dillashaw in the 2nd or 3rd. Although, who knows. This is the fight game and Dillashaw is a former champ. Champions are cut from something different.
2020 TOKYO OLYMPICS
There’s something so wildly exhilarating about the summer games. I don’t really have much to say. I don’t know many of the athletes. I don’t know many of the narratives. What I do know is that we all get to put on our patriot hats and cheer like drunken idiots for USA USA USA. I think that a little bit of patriotism is what we need right now. With the reemergence of the coronavirus, it seems like our country is only doubling down on tearing itself apart from within. I don’t know how we got here. I don’t know when science and vaccines became politicized. I don’t know when message boards and decentralized social media platforms became the true ideological epicenters of conservatism. I don’t know when empathy for the weak went out of fashion. I don’t know when myth and hoax’s replaced hundreds of years of progress. I just don’t know and I refuse to get it. I’m over it. What I do know is that we are about to showcase our best athletes to the entire world. We are going to have the spotlight on us. The USA will be sized up and scrutinized. You don’t think there will be talks of our internal problems? We are going to be dissected, as we always are. I just hope we are ready to hear the criticisms and the praises.