She Is Seeing Red

*groans very loudly* Yes, it’s that time of the year. The time where we all gripe and complain about All Star voting. If you’ve been sleeping peacefully under a rock since yesterday evening, you may have missed that Andrew Wiggins was selected as an All Star starter yesterday. Yes, *that* Andrew Wiggins. The one we just had to bully into getting vaccinated. For the first time in his career, he is an All Star starter. And for the billionth time in Wardell Curry’s career, he has an All Star teammate. (I’m sorry, my agenda is gonna agend, y’all.) The reaction to Wiggins’ selection was…what you’d reasonably expect from NBA Twitter. “Over CP3? Booker? KAT?” apparently so. Not to take away from Wiggins’ accomplishments this season, but every year there seems to be that one head-scratching selection that makes fans, media, and players alike say one thing: “we need to change the All Star Voting process.” It’s an exhibition game so it shouldn’t matter much right? Ehhhhh. Not really. Often times...

  y’all. *deep, exasperated sigh* before i dive into my rant, i’d first like to highlight the REAL progressive league in professional sports- the WNBA. shout out to the W for nearing a 100% vaccination rate for players & staff. because of course the women are leading the way. we always do. in my January 18, 2021 blog, i asked Mr. Silver if he was even somewhat embarrassed for how poorly the NBA has handled the coronavirus pandemic. that was 8 months ago. EIGHT. and as we prepare for the start of the new season it’s apparent that if Silver doesn’t feel embarrassed, he should be.  to ME, it’s quite embarrassing that the loudest voices in the room are the misinformed ones. those voices are spewing misinformation found in the underbellies of YouTube and fuzzy Facebook posts. star players are outright refusing to get vaccinated, dubbing any type of mandate a “non-starter”. further, players are prepared to skip games in cities where vaccinations are mandated, thus affecting the ...

it’s pretty incredible how much we allow talent to mask. as long as you can dribble, throw a ball, or kick one, there isn’t a personal mistake too big that will render you irredeemable. professional sports have perpetuated & aided in the violence against women for far too long. there are too many instances to name where an athlete’s cruel & violent actions towards women were merely a speed bump on his road to stardom. why do violent men continue to receive the grace the victims don’t? by allowing these men second, third, & fourth chances, we show victims that their suffering is not only expendable, but completely obsolete when their abusers are talented & have monetizable gifts. we remind them that their harm isn’t even a footnote on their abuser’s resume. it’s an addendum on a completely separate page that no one takes the time to read. what good does it make to hire a female coach if you show her that the veracity of her victimhood is contingent upon the relative skil...

“ain’t nobody coming to see you, Otis.” -David Ruffin -Casual NBA fans in 2021. the scoffs of derision were heard worldwide. after the early playoff exits of the league heavyweights, LeBron James and Stephen Curry, disgruntled fans everywhere expressed their lack of interest in this year’s journey to the championship. “no one wants to see playoffs without Bron & Steph.” darling, you could not be more wrong. but- but- but- RATINGS! okay let’s be real, no one cares about ratings except for tv station owners and billionaires. the normal NBA fan rarely tracks the progression and regression of tv ratings. but in case you’d like numbers, playoff viewership is up 39% from last season. THIRTY-NINE PERCENT. & this time last season, LeBron was playing & we were all in the house. *slow whistles* that agenda can’t agend any more, friends.  we have complained & opined about the lack of parity in the league for years now. months ago, fans shook their fists to the sky as veteran p...

what. a. season. since this was truly the most unprecedented NBA season yet, i’ve chosen my 5 favorite events from this season that made it memorable for me. 5. The Dunk Heard ‘Round The World. Anthony Edwards may be the coolest rookie the league has ever seen. his post-game interviews are an incredible mixture of candidness, honesty, and absolute hilarity. however, his terrorizing baptism of Yuta Watanabe shook the foundation of the court floor- and NBA Twitter alike. the clip went viral in minutes, inciting another ground shaking dunk- the one on old-man-yells-at-cloud NBA writers. instead of praising the athletic feat, a few writers opted to instead comment on his poor shooting night, in hopes to dull the shine on an otherwise spectacular play. then the Montagues and Capulets of basketball discourse drew their swords. analytics versus eye test, part 94291. i won’t get into the finite details of that feud, but it’s unfortunate that such a fun play resorted to that tired debate. baske...

val·u·a·ble /ˈvaly(o͞o)əb(ə)l/ MVP. no other award across all professional sports is more coveted than the one of Most Valuable Player. what does it mean to be the most valuable player in the league? what does it mean to be valuable? does it mean being the best player? does it mean being the most consistent? does it mean being the face of the best team? or does it mean being the overachieving underdog that no one saw coming? to be honest, i don’t think we know what it means. the criteria for MVP changes every season. most fans consider it merely a narrative-based award given to the player whose season storyline eclipses the others. other folks think it’s a purely quantifiable award that can *only* be supported by statistics and win shares. they wholly reject the narrative aspect and focus solely one what can be seen - and calculated. then there are those who feel that the award should go to the player who has etched his name in the history books. these folks overlook seeding & cali...

super team this. KD that. 73-9 & they lieddddd. this is the nucleus of NBA Twitter discourse. instead of making winning the goal, we make it the focal point of a career. we invalidate stacked resumes if “champion” is not etched somewhere between All Star appearances & retirement. this line of thinking creates the culture we see now: stacking the deck or forming “super teams”. & honestly, who can blame players for trying to strong arm themselves into a team positioned to win it all? the same people who consider Kevin Durant a “snake” for joining Golden State are the same people who scoff at players like Damian Lillard or Bradley Beal who want to remain in their markets. we can’t have it both ways. we can’t simultaneously spit on the careers of the ringless & also moan & complain when talented players decide to join forces. it’s also asinine to assert that rings or championships can be cheapened in any capacity. the trophy doesn’t have an asterisk, the history book do...