I dont know what to make of this. I’m going to miss Monta and especially Udoh. Love watching him play. Sad that the season is over.
Last week, I downloaded The Rivalry by John Taylor to my Nook because I had just purchased a Wilt Chamberlain throwback jersey and decided that if I was going to wear the man’s name on my back, I should know more about him than I did at the time. I highly recommend the book, and will probably post more about it later.
But having just read that they played a song from the album Chamberlain recorded during the offseason over the loudspeakers in Hershey, PA, right before his famed 100 point game… I immediately had two thoughts: A) Wilt Chamberlain recorded an album in 1961??? and B) if the basketball gods are good, that song is on the Internet. Now, I’m not a religious man, but I present to you “By the River” by Wilt Chamberlain.
It’s everything I hoped it would be.
I don’t care what you do during O Canada, but take your hands out of your goddamn pockets during the U.S. national anthem. Christ.
Objectively speaking, the awesomeness of a pro sports all star game could be directly related to the effort level that the stars put into the game. To wit, objectively speaking, baseball has the “best” all star game among the U.S.A.’s 4 major sports. That said, the only reason that baseball players are able to give 85 - 95% in an exhibition game is because the physical requirements of baseball are so low and low risk (Pete “Freight Train” Rose notwithstanding). Swing a bat. Throw a ball. Grab your balls and get a farmer’s tan. That’s about it.
So, subjectively speaking, I would argue that seeing the NBA’s all stars give 60% in the first three quarters and 85% in the fourth is way better than baseball’s 9 innings of 90%. I have never watched any part of a hockey all star game (somebody tell me if it’s awesome), and I hesitate even to mention the charade that is the NFL’s Pro Bowl (aka the Notgoingtothesuper Bowl). Add to that the fact that the NBA’s stars are, on average, more charismatic and accessible than any other sport and you get an all star break actually worth paying attention to.
To back up my argument, think about some of the great moments in NBA all star history: Magic’s three pointer, MJ vs. Kobe, Marvin Gaye’s national anthem, Isaiah Thomas’ anit-MJ campaign. Even just last year, the competition between Lebron and Kobe was so fun to watch specifically because you never expect the game to get very competitive… but it almost always does.
TL;DR I’m psyched about this weekend.
Facepalm. It almost makes sense!
It’s officially time to stop watching ESPN forever.
First
then these two
then
then
then
and now…
This is why I freaking love the freaking Warriors.
