It’s times like these I wish I paid more attention to British politics. A sovereign nation walking away from an international body? Awesome.
Any event that starts with the citizens voting for what they want and ends with politicians resigning is okay in my book. End of story.
Oh, soccer… you with the periodic way in which you get our hopes up. It’s not just every four years now, either. Somehow it’s become more frequent than that. You got me again last night, as I tuned in to see my national team face off against a real soccer team from Argentina in the Copa America Centenario.
It was exciting for about 10 minutes.
Four-nil? That’s like 40-nil in a real sport.
Kudos, soccer promoters, though, on slipping this one in off schedule to milk some American wishful thinking. You got me again.
See ya at the Olympics.
That was a Game Seven that lived up to the hype. It’s easy to say now but I actually found myself pulling for LeBron and Co. a little bit towards the end of the game and was not disappointed to see them win. (Were they the villains this time, or the heroic underdogs? Sometimes I forget.)
So step one is complete in our 2016-is-the-year-of-the-unlikely scenario. Cavaliers? NBA Champs. Next are the Cubs and finally comes Donald Trump. It’s destiny now.
I like to think 2016 will be a pretty good year, regardless of how likely or unlikely the developments. I do have a pretty good life (thanks, everyone) and yesterday was a good example…
Father’s Day.
Seems I became a father just in time to cash in on the gross overproduction and overcommercialization of said holiday, and I’m all for it. It’s not just a new necktie anymore; it’s Christmas in June.
Amen, Dads.
I’m glad I stayed up for the end of that one last night, because just reading about Stephen Curry’s blowup and ejection wouldn’t have done it justice, am I right? (Ditto reading about Craig Sager’s postgame interview with LeBron.) And much as I’ve been awaiting a Golden State win in this series, gosh help me I wanted the Cavs to force a Game Seven yesterday because, well, I wanted to watch a Game Seven. I don’t even think NBA Corporate needed its thumb on the controls last night; that was a dominating performace by Cleveland Inc. Whom do I root for now? I’ll let you know Monday.
Funny how in this series of great games the average margin of victory has been nearly 20 points, with no game being closer that a final score difference of 11. I think Sunday night’s game will change that stat (it damn well better!) and should provide for one of the great TV sports dramas of this century.
Just, you know, going out on a limb there.
Today is the first day of summer vacation ’round these parts, and this grownup couldn’t be more excited. (Tempered, of course, by the fact that I’ve got either summer school or summer camp every day from now until the first day of next school year.)
The natural order of things is for school to end, then for the NBA season to end, and that’s just what we have this year. I think the Cavs the other night merely staved off the inevitable, but you never know. Perhaps NBA Corporate will tell the boys to let Cleveland win one more so they can rake in advertising for a Game Seven.
Yup. That would be a sweet start to summer.
There are few nice things one can say about the murder of 50 people, the tragic scene that occurred Sunday morning at an Orlando nightclub. Senseless and despicable are the words that come to mind first.
I’ll give this to our society though. In my lifetime we’ve gone from a culture whose attitude towards tragedy in the gay community has gone from reaction to AIDS: serves ’em right for living a deviant lifestyle to one in which people have fallen over themselves to show solidarity with the gay community. That’s in one generation, and that’s progress.
So I guess that’s something. But it’s an awful lesson to learn.
This past Sunday’s Loudoun County insert in The Washington Post carried a front-page feature on the newly-minted chair of said county’s Board of Supervisors, Phyllis J. Randall. She says the usual things about wanting to give people “voices” and having an “open door,” and of course gratuitous remarks about being African American. (To be fair it seemed to be in response to a leading question, but those are the questions you laugh at, not answer.)
Speaking of laughter and laughter-inducing responses, I could not help chuckling at Ms. Randall’s comments regarding her “main goal [she] hope[s] to accomplish.” First, it involves a “Comprehensive Plan.” Oh boy. Second, and I quote: We have such a dearth of housing options in this county. You shouldn’t have to make $75,000 a year to live in the county.
You ever heard of an area so wealthy they actually had in their “comprehensive plan” an initiative to dial it back a little?
Yeah, imagine the horrors and chaos that would ensue if you lived in an area where everyone was successful.
Sometimes you’ve just run out of things to worry about.
Yesterday I turned 34 years old. It was a good day, of course, but let’s face it… when you have my life most days are good. I’m lucky to have so many wonderful friends and a terrific family and I’m thankful for them every single day.
Like the passing of a head of state, the death of Muhammad Ali has sounded across the entire globe and focused the world’s attention on The Man as it has so many times before. As someone with a blog devoted to sports, politics, and entertainment, I can think of few people so ingrained in all of these areas as the late Muhammad Ali, who died Friday at the age of 74.
I’ve often wondered what I would think of Ali had I grown up in his heyday rather than a generation removed. After all, the man was not without controversy. (And this in an era without Twitter!) By the time I knew who Muhammad Ali was he was not only passed his prime but suffering from a severely debilitating disease. He was also a legend and absolutely beyond reproach, his godlike status secure. My only real memory of Ali in action (as is the case for anyone under 40) is of his torch lighting at the ’96 Olympics. More than all his moments in the ring, that’s the one people remember most. It was one of the great moments in the history of sports.
For all his ego and grandstanding and unorthodox views on race and religion and politics, Muhammad Ali was nothing if not honest and resolute. Those are qualities to be admired. And his political views? Rightly or wrongly the world came around to him, did it not?
Often overlooked is Ali’s prowess in the ring, three times the Heavyweight Champion of the World and an Olympic gold medalist.
How great was he?
The Greatest.
It was a game for three quarters, then last night’s Game One matchup between the Warriors and the Cavs became about as interesting as the preempted episode of CNN’s The Eighties that was supposed to air last night. Seriously, they’re at about 50% this season… must I continue to get “breaking news” about another crackpot drug theory in Prince’s death?
Disappointing, too, was last night’s season finale of Archer, a show which sometimes runs a little off the rails from what made it so cool for several seasons and a few dozen episodes. It tends to be a bit much these days, and also at the same time oddly repetitious. That’s never a good combination.
Well, there are still (possibly) 17 more days of the NBA Finals to keep us sated through June.
I’ve gone back and forth so many times on who’s a lock to win this series I think it’s a little silly for me to make a prediction now but I will anyway.
Series outcome: awesome basketball, awesome television.