The ONLY Autographed Copy of Tim Duncan’s Honors Thesis!. Oh, Tim. Pretty neat story. Gotta say I’m a bit jealous.
Tag: sports
Write Flight: When White Hoops Writers Run Away from White Players
Most journalists have gotten over using the archaic terms of past generations. Every once in a while that coded language will flare up again (as it did during Jeremy Lin’s emergence a couple of years ago, and when Richard Sherman went off a couple of months ago) but for the most part we know better. We don’t connect ability to chromosomal sequences anymore. Well, except for white basketball players.
Not looking for pity for the white man here, but it’s something I’ve noticed, too. Thoughtful writing on race, sports journalism, and lazy thinking.
Write Flight: When White Hoops Writers Run Away from White Players
Tony Gwynn’s incredible numbers
What does it mean to have piled up a .338 batting average over a 20-year career, over 9,288 at-bats? It means Tony Gwynn would have had to go 0-for-his-next-1,183 to get his average to fall under .300 (and even then, it would have “plummeted” to a mere .29997). We kid you not.
Lordy.
Rivalries are born from teams that play each other a lot. When you’re not in the rivalry and you look back at it, you’re thinking, Well, I hated that guy because he would have made a great teammate.
Scot Pollard. Cf. Carolyn Hax: “Competitive people are most annoying to other competitive people.”
Doubt is what drives me, the nervousness that I don’t have it anymore. There’s nothing a coach or anyone can say to me that’s more powerful than my own fear that I can’t do it anymore.
“James Naismith in 1928, holding a peach basket for his wife, Maude, to make a shot.”
NBA Rebuilding the Highlight Factory – ESPN
Atlanta is a sports town, just not one that resembles other major league cities. To understand Atlanta’s relationship with the Hawks, it’s necessary to understand that the common cultural heritage of the metropolitan area tends toward living in the suburbs and the tribalism of college football. To believe Atlanta is not a good sports town, it’s necessary to believe college football is not a sport.
Stanford Man: Richard Sherman and the Thug Athlete Narrative «
And while the intentions were good, and helped shift some of the conversation about him back in his favor, it shouldn’t be a primary argument when given the all-too-common task of proving someone isn’t a thug. If anything, it’s harmful logic. Because the next Richard Sherman may not have attended Stanford. So what then?
Stanford Man: Richard Sherman and the Thug Athlete Narrative «
Kyle Korver’s Big Night, and the Day on the Ocean That Made It Possible
The point is, as we’re paddleboarding [25 miles] … there wasn’t a tree, there wasn’t a corner, there weren’t mile markers. You had to break it down even smaller. Into the stroke. So I sat there and tried to perfect my stroke each time I pull. The angles of how I’m pulling the paddle back and going forward. How long I’m going. How I’m using my wrist. All these things. You try to make the stroke perfect.
Filed under: practice.
Kyle Korver’s Big Night, and the Day on the Ocean That Made It Possible
1-on-1 Basketball Game: Don Cornelius vs Marvin Gaye. Ref’ed by Smokey Robinson. If ever there were a video at the center of an important-to-me Venn diagram, it’s this one.
(Source: http://media.mtvnservices.com/)
Richie Incognito, Jonathan Martin, and the Miami Dolphins bullying scandal – Grantland
No one thought Joe Theismann was soft for leaving the game when his leg was hanging sideways. Sometimes the brain goes sideways, and when that happens, “brave” or “cowardly” shouldn’t even come into it. Seeking help is just the practical thing to do.
Richie Incognito, Jonathan Martin, and the Miami Dolphins bullying scandal – Grantland
Saying Good-bye As the Braves Leave Atlanta for ‘Atlanta’ – Grantland.
Nothing in this message is a lie, or even exaggerated, once you realize who the audience is. This message isn’t directed toward the Atlanta city-dweller. The “you, our fans” is not targeted at a person who lives in the city of Atlanta. It’s targeted at everyone in that dark-red blot that lives in the city’s northern suburbs. If you’re a fan who lives in these suburban areas, today is a great day. It has long been a hassle to get to Turner Field — because it involves going all the way to Atlanta to see the Atlanta Braves.
LOOK AWAY: Steph Curry had a 3-on-1 break against the Clippers, so naturally he pulled up and shot a 3-pointer (and got fouled = 4-point play). That’s not why I posted this GIF though.
Just look at the faces of the crushed Clippers fans in the stands who can do nothing but look away.
My Power Rankings:
- Brunette lady in blue Clippers jersey
- Guy who exhales, grabs Dodgers cap
- Older white guy shaking his head
THE BEST: Nothing is more Larry Bird than this play
This is, by far, my favorite Larry Bird moment, and a Top 10 NBA Moment Ever in my opinion. The first time I saw this highlight, I gasped.
It’s one thing to know your shot is short. It’s another to know where the rebound’s headed. It’s a third to instinctually and immediately go for the ball, and just patently absurd to switch hands to get the shot off, and make it.
There are a lot of great plays in the NBA, but you will not find ten better than this. It really is breathtaking.
Donald Trump Licked My Flesh, Part 3
Legacy is a marketing tool; it exists for the convenience of people who want to sell you something. It has nothing to do with the athlete, whose accomplishments aren’t going to change if he plays past his prime, literally aren’t going to change at all, because Skip Bayless doesn’t own a time machine. Legacy is a post-Jordan, made-up idea that glorifies “going out on top” as part of a corporate strategy, presuming that fans don’t have memories and can’t cope with the complexity of a human life. Legacy belongs in the same pile of bogus thought-propaganda as “controlling the narrative” and “personal brand.”
ATL Urbanist: Friendship Baptist and the Atlanta Falcons
A very clever person named Kyle Kessler put together this chart, helpfully comparing Friendship Baptist Church and the Atlanta Falcons.
One of two possible sites for the construction of the new Atlanta Falcons stadium would require the purchase and demolition of this 1873 church building.
Mark Larson 