Week in Sports - Wednesday, April 18, 2018
2018 NBA Playoff Prediction
The NBA Playoffs are underway and so far things have been pretty interesting. The favorites remain to be the defending champion Golden State Warriors, but the health of Steph Curry may prove to be pivotal. The Houston Rockets were the best team all season, and are major contenders for the championship. In the East, the King is still on his throne, but may be the most vulnerable he has been in many years. And the Philadelphia 76ers are coming.
Today I am joined by members of the Crew for the return of our NBA Playoff Prediction show. Full disclosure, we initially taped this show on Friday night, but due to technical difficulties, the video was horrible and it didn't' meet the standards of this excellent platform we have created. So we filmed again on Tuesday night, having seen a few games of Playoff action. But trust me, I held everyone to statements they made on Friday nights show. Enjoy.
Today I am joined by members of the Crew for the return of our NBA Playoff Prediction show. Full disclosure, we initially taped this show on Friday night, but due to technical difficulties, the video was horrible and it didn't' meet the standards of this excellent platform we have created. So we filmed again on Tuesday night, having seen a few games of Playoff action. But trust me, I held everyone to statements they made on Friday nights show. Enjoy.
The Black Ball Continues to Roll
I have very strong opinions on the entire situation surrounding the blackballing of Colin Kaepernick. That's right people, whether you want to admit it or not, due to his decision to kneel during the National Anthem, in protest of police brutality and the killing of unarmed African Americans, Colin Kaepernick is being excluded from an opportunity to play football in the National Football League. If there was ever more evidence to be found, we received it last week when Adam Schefter reported that Seattle contacted Kaepernick about three weeks ago to arrange a visit to the team’s headquarters, but after tentative arrangements were made and travel was planned, the trip was unexpectedly canceled over the Seahawks’ last-minute stipulation regarding Kaep’s anthem stance.
According to Schefter's source, the Seahawks wanted to know that Kaepernick wouldn’t kneel this season, but Colin Kaepernick was unwilling to give that assurance to them. Of course the Seahawks are denying this is the reason they canceled the trip, but we all should know better. Kaepernick is a better quarterback than any of these scrubs we see getting signed to backup jobs around the league. Are we to believe that not only is Kaep not good enough to be starter anymore, but he's not even worthy of being on 1 of the 32 rosters, even in a backup role. It's a disgrace to even see it on the screen as I type it.
Now of course, many are pointing to the collusion case Kaep is suing the NFL over, but if that were the case, wouldn't continuing to keep him out of the NFL only give his case more weight? This is completely ridiculous and an insult to our intelligence. Not mention the fact that Eric Reid, a Pro Bowl safety who protested with Kaep, also is without a job this deep into free agency. The story can't get any plainer to decipher.
According to Schefter's source, the Seahawks wanted to know that Kaepernick wouldn’t kneel this season, but Colin Kaepernick was unwilling to give that assurance to them. Of course the Seahawks are denying this is the reason they canceled the trip, but we all should know better. Kaepernick is a better quarterback than any of these scrubs we see getting signed to backup jobs around the league. Are we to believe that not only is Kaep not good enough to be starter anymore, but he's not even worthy of being on 1 of the 32 rosters, even in a backup role. It's a disgrace to even see it on the screen as I type it.
Now of course, many are pointing to the collusion case Kaep is suing the NFL over, but if that were the case, wouldn't continuing to keep him out of the NFL only give his case more weight? This is completely ridiculous and an insult to our intelligence. Not mention the fact that Eric Reid, a Pro Bowl safety who protested with Kaep, also is without a job this deep into free agency. The story can't get any plainer to decipher.
The owners of these NFL teams are cowards who are scared to lose advertising dollars and the support from fans who have concocted in their minds that Kaep's protest of police brutality and the killing of unarmed black men, somehow makes him unpatriotic. Sure, the method and time in which he chose to protest, during the National Anthem, is controversial and draws attention, but that's the point of organizing a demonstration. You try to bring attention to a cause during a time that people will be paying attention. You don't go stand out in the forest where nobody is at. You don't go rent out an arena and speak only to people who feel the same as you do. You try to draw the attention of the masses, and what bigger stage for an NFL player, than his NFL platform. As far as these owners are concerned, it’s all about money and pressure from sponsors.
But instead of concentrating on the merit of the protest and the real issues that need to be addressed, the story as turned into Kaepernick's job status. Next week, I look at Kaep's desire to continue to play in a league that has actively worked to blackball him.
But instead of concentrating on the merit of the protest and the real issues that need to be addressed, the story as turned into Kaepernick's job status. Next week, I look at Kaep's desire to continue to play in a league that has actively worked to blackball him.
They Created a Monster
The last few weeks have been really busy for me with my trip to New Orleans, but trust in believe, I was not going to let the story just past by and not share my thoughts. While I was in NOLA, all hell broke loose for the UFC when Conor McGregor and his crew went on a rampage in NYC. Back on April 5th, just two days before UFC 223 in New York, Conor and 15 of his crew flew to the U.S to enact revenge against Khabib Nurmagomedov, due to an confrontation between Khabib and Conor's close friend and teammate, Artem Lobov earlier in the week.
In an attempt to get at Khabib, McGregor picked up a dolly and threw it through the window of a van, shattering glass which caused cuts that led to two fighters, Michael Chiesa and Ray Borg, having to be pulled from the UFC show. The broken class ended up splitting the head open of Chiesa, who was to face Anthony Pettis on the show. Shards of glass got into the eye of Ray Borg, who was to face Alex Morono. Borg went to the hospital saying that he was unable to close his eye, which he believed was from glass getting into the eye.
Rose Namajunas was badly shaken up emotionally since glass exploded onto her, but she wasn't cut, nor physically hurt. Another UFC official was hurt, suffering wounds that broke a knuckle in his hand. McGregor was so hyped up that he grabbed a metal barricade and threw it at the van, and also threw a chair at the van. While not reported elsewhere, two sources confirmed that McGregor allegedly punched a UFC official at another point and another member of UFC's crew punched a different UFC official.
In an attempt to get at Khabib, McGregor picked up a dolly and threw it through the window of a van, shattering glass which caused cuts that led to two fighters, Michael Chiesa and Ray Borg, having to be pulled from the UFC show. The broken class ended up splitting the head open of Chiesa, who was to face Anthony Pettis on the show. Shards of glass got into the eye of Ray Borg, who was to face Alex Morono. Borg went to the hospital saying that he was unable to close his eye, which he believed was from glass getting into the eye.
Rose Namajunas was badly shaken up emotionally since glass exploded onto her, but she wasn't cut, nor physically hurt. Another UFC official was hurt, suffering wounds that broke a knuckle in his hand. McGregor was so hyped up that he grabbed a metal barricade and threw it at the van, and also threw a chair at the van. While not reported elsewhere, two sources confirmed that McGregor allegedly punched a UFC official at another point and another member of UFC's crew punched a different UFC official.
Dana White called it the most disgusting thing in UFC history, which is a pretty obvious reaction as it got worldwide major media coverage and was the single most talked about news story in the U.S., and dominating conversation during Wrestlemania weekend in New Orleans where I was. But the fact is, Mcgregor felt he was justified for his actions. Smh. McGregor was charged with felony criminal mischief, misdemeanor assault as well as menacing and reckless endangerment charges by the New York Police Department. He turned himself in, was arrested and held overnight. He was released the next day on $50,000 bond. He is to return to New York for a court date on 6/14.
My thoughts, they created this monster, and now they have to deal wit it. Conor has been allowed to do whatever he wants, say whatever he wants and fight whenever he wants. He was allowed to go outside of his UFC contract and go fight Floyd Mayweather, making more money than the UFC would ever dream of paying him. And now he thinks he is bigger than UFC, and the response of Dana White after a day or two to think about it, only further shows why Conor feels so emboldened. Anybody else, especially a man that the media would categorize as a thug, ( yea, let Jon Jones pull something like this), would be banned for life. There has to be incredible resentment of him by fighters, because any of them could have been in that van and they could see that he didn’t have a care in the world when he was going crazy, about innocent people, the same people who are on the roster with him, getting hurt for really no reason. But word going around is Dana and Conor have talked and he'll be back.
My thoughts, they created this monster, and now they have to deal wit it. Conor has been allowed to do whatever he wants, say whatever he wants and fight whenever he wants. He was allowed to go outside of his UFC contract and go fight Floyd Mayweather, making more money than the UFC would ever dream of paying him. And now he thinks he is bigger than UFC, and the response of Dana White after a day or two to think about it, only further shows why Conor feels so emboldened. Anybody else, especially a man that the media would categorize as a thug, ( yea, let Jon Jones pull something like this), would be banned for life. There has to be incredible resentment of him by fighters, because any of them could have been in that van and they could see that he didn’t have a care in the world when he was going crazy, about innocent people, the same people who are on the roster with him, getting hurt for really no reason. But word going around is Dana and Conor have talked and he'll be back.
UFC employees also have to have an issue. One was injured and two others were punched in this attack. In some form, the company has to stand up for its employees. McGregor has been a huge money generator but he’s also the single most unprofessional and egomaniacal fighter on the roster. It’s been a running joke about if you need McGregor somewhere at 2 p.m., you have to tell him the appointment is at noon, because he will always be late. He has held up one press conference after another trying to big league people and causing thousands of people to waste their time waiting for him.
The reality is that McGregor's drawing power is such that time heals all wounds and he would likely fight with UFC again if he wanted to. Right now McGregor has a slew of huge money fights, with Khabib Nurmagomedov and Georges St-Pierre clear fights that would have a good shot at breaking company PPV records, and there is always the third Nate Diaz fight and there has been a ton of talk in recent weeks about Floyd Mayweather in the UFC. So yea, they have created a monster that they need in order to make big money.
The reality is that McGregor's drawing power is such that time heals all wounds and he would likely fight with UFC again if he wanted to. Right now McGregor has a slew of huge money fights, with Khabib Nurmagomedov and Georges St-Pierre clear fights that would have a good shot at breaking company PPV records, and there is always the third Nate Diaz fight and there has been a ton of talk in recent weeks about Floyd Mayweather in the UFC. So yea, they have created a monster that they need in order to make big money.