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Post by Zealot on Jun 14, 2019 15:21:38 GMT
Something is wrong when Canada has an NBA championship and not an NHL championship 😆 Just to put the Canadian misery into perspective, the Toronto Raptors weren't even a team the last time a Canadian club won the Stanley Cup. Hooray for bad management, eh? #linsavagery  |
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Post by El Marsh on Jun 16, 2019 4:31:55 GMT
I really like watching Tyson Fury box.
He was obviously in there against an overmatched opponent tonight but really, how do you find a good match for a guy who's 6'9" 265 lbs with an 85 inch reach who, oh yeah, is actually physically faster on his feet than every other heavyweight around, contending or otherwise? I really hope that we actually get the currently in-negotation rematch between lineal heavyweight champion Fury and WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder. It has been a LONG time since heavyweights were the talk of the division and with a gregarious lineal champ (i.e. he beat the champ who beat the champ who beat the champ, etc) in Fury and a colorful sanctioned champ with THE most devastating punch in boxing with Wilder, boxing NEEDS these two to rematch and have another potentially epic confrontation. Anthony Joshua who formerly held the other three heavyweight titles will be looking to reclaim those belts and potentially unify against whoever takes the WBC belt but I don't think Andy Ruiz will just give them away to him. We're so close to having the belts unified for the first time in 16 years. I hope it happens and "politics" (rather, $$$) doesn't prevent it from happening.[\spoiler]
I just hope he keeps it all together and doesn't let the success get the better of him again.
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Post by Timberwolf on Jun 16, 2019 7:30:30 GMT
Anthony Davis to the Lakers? 🤤
That's gonna shake up a wide open Western conference with the Warriors on the decline.
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Post by Zealot on Jun 16, 2019 13:07:20 GMT
I mean at least the Lakers should make the playoffs with that move. And they kept Kuzma which was surprising. THREE first rounders makes me sick to my stomach though. The Pelicans will be in great shape.
Both guys are starting to become injury prone though with LeBron in particular looking like his career is hitting a wall.
I still can't see them topping out right now at anything higher than a 6 seed in the West next season though. They need more pieces to surround them.
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Post by Timberwolf on Jun 16, 2019 14:19:41 GMT
Right. But everyone else in the western conference are not all that great. I can't see a single team winning 55 in that conference next year while the east should once again dominate with the Bucks, Raptors, Sixers and Celtics leading the way.
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Post by Zealot on Jun 16, 2019 15:11:17 GMT
I'm kind of 50/50 on that. While I do agree that the east is slowly becoming the more powerful conference (they need some of those teams to really stop tanking), there is still stiff competition in the West.
While the Warriors will be hobbled for sure without Klay or KD, you still got Portland and Houston which will almost always be in the mix. Teams like the Clippers, Spurs, Thunder, Jazz, and Nuggets will more than likely stay consistent. Then you have teams which will be on the rise next season like the Kings and Mavericks.
The Lakers have to swing 11-12 games in their favor from last season just to make the playoffs and that's if everything goes right team building wise and they avoid the injury bug. Not easy to do for the current shit show in their ownership/front office situation.
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Post by Timberwolf on Jun 16, 2019 18:06:29 GMT
We still have the draft coming up as well as free agency.
That's one thing the NBA has right over the NFL. Draft first, then free agency.
Too bad the CBA in the NFL would never allow the draft to be first followed by free agency. Teams can do their draft, then use free agency to plug holes not filled in the draft.
But the NFL veterans don't want that. It means they'd have a harder time getting a contract in free agency if the draft is first because the team that they would have signed with drafted a player in their position.
I do love it though when a draft pick beats out a high priced free agent signing such as Russell Wilson beating out Matt Flynn when Wilson got drafted.
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Post by Zealot on Jun 16, 2019 18:57:35 GMT
I feel like there's a volume issue with free agents in the NFL compared to the NBA considering that NFL teams have to fill 53 roster spots compared to like 15-20 in the NBA, so there would be more voices to be heard.
I'm not too excited about the prospects from the NBA draft outside of Ja Morant and Zion Williamson.
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Post by El Marsh on Jun 16, 2019 22:59:41 GMT
^I like Bol Bol's game but I fear that he'll always have health issues. If he can stay healthy though, he basically a longer Joel Embiid with a better shot and defensive presence.
RJ Barrett will be a good pro (not necessarily a star) but beyond those two and Williamson and Morant, who really knows?
Either way, New Orleans has a chance to redefine their entire future with the #1 and #4 picks joining Jrue Holiday and newcomers Brandon Ingram and Lonzo Ball (who really is pretty good at everything except shooting lol). They'll miss Davis' do-everything drive that carried the team to victory many times over he years but they have the chance to replace the production of one transcendent player with consistently good play from 4 very young players who are probably going to be around for a while (you know, if they actually pan out; the only KNOWN quantity that the Pelicans have coming in is Brandom Ingram who is a damn good scorer on most nights).
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Post by Zealot on Jun 18, 2019 0:06:30 GMT
Okay. I hope karma hits the classless fucktard that decided to discharge a gun at the Raptor's victory parade super hard.
So much for Canada being friendly.
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Post by El Marsh on Jun 18, 2019 2:12:38 GMT
So, Women's World Cup.
Anyone gonna upset Team USA?
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Post by BakFu on Jun 18, 2019 3:04:24 GMT
Okay. I hope karma hits the classless fucktard that decided to discharge a gun at the Raptor's victory parade super hard. So much for Canada being friendly. Wow, four people shot, thankfully none fatally. We have an abundance of douchebags here as well, just generally far less well armed than our southern cousins. 🙂 funny thing is for some reason when Canadian teams have big wins, our shittiest people turn up on the streets and start riots. Lots of store damage/looting and burning cars. Hard to figure out really, especially after your team delivers a big win. Bullshit aside, it has been pretty cool to see how universally unifying the Raptors’ win has been, pretty broad, non traditional sports types have been sucked into the whole thing, too bad a couple of insecure drooling halfwits had to fuck up the party so badly. As for the women’s World Cup, can’t see any team easily defeating the US team. It wasn’t shooting practice with Chile like it was against Thailand, but they still looked good. France is the favourite, but are notorious chokers, maybe Germany, Sweden, or a sleeper Netherlands team. Fun to watch so far, the France vs. Nigeria game got messed up with video review bullshit and resulting two penalty kicks (groan), but otherwise good stuff. Of course I have to watch Canada, and they don’t look bad (wins over NZ and Cameroon so far), Canada faces Netherlands Thursday, so that will be a good test for them going forward in the tournament. Should be interesting. |
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Post by Zealot on Jun 18, 2019 16:00:47 GMT
So, Women's World Cup. Anyone gonna upset Team USA? Outside of Germany or host nation France, I don't see it happening. The US is still far ahead of the rest. It's kind of sad that some analysts think it's a big deal that they thrashed Thailand 13-0 and that they don't understand basic statistics like GOAL DIFFERENTIAL and how it factors into the WORLD CUP. Now sure Rapinoe's celebration after goal #9 was a bit excessive, but you also have players scoring their first World Cup goals as well as veterans like Carli Lloyd scoring their last goals. Regardless, this is the World Cup and the idea of letting the foot off the gas in a tournament format is dumb and insulting to their opponents. At least they were kind enough to console the Thai side after the match, but nobody covers that because reasons. |
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Post by BakFu on Jun 18, 2019 18:19:20 GMT
Yeah, I agree about the score-a-thon, you’re at the tournament to win, winning entails scoring goals, stoping goals, and building a point spread. Thailand got a shitty draw and ended up fighting Thanos instead of the Shocker, but they lost with dignity and will learn from it. Every woman on that national team has put in decades of hard work to be there, and to score at THE tournament for your sport means you leave an indelible mark on the game. No one wants to see such a lop sided squash, but you can’t blame players for wanting to score on the biggest stage the game has!
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Post by OrochiGeese on Jun 18, 2019 21:19:36 GMT
I don't really follow soccer but I heard about the "controversy" and it was major face palm moment. Like holy shit how do professional commentators not realize that scoring more goals gives a team a competitive advantage in their overall league block and is therefore not showboating? If not scoring a goal can actually allow a competitor to get a superior position then it's not showboating. It's just competition.
Furthermore, if you really respect an opponent, you make sure they can't beat you. Comebacks happen all the time. You keep playing until the game is over to respect the opponent and the sport. The only potential downside is the possibility of injuries to star players but that's a calculation that the coaching staff and players have to make.
I can understand a separate argument being made about post-goal celebrations being excessive after like a 10 point lead but the actual scoring is part of the game and part of the overall league setup. If people have an issue with that, then professional sports isn't really for them. And if they can't understand how scoring more helps a team protect their overall block position, they have no business as a commentator.
Moving on...
Very happy for the Raptors but sad that the Warriors lost the way they did and sustained those injuries. The Raptors earned the victory and fought really hard, especially during the past two rounds. But it was anticlimactic seeing any team win the Championship this way. Wasn't the Raptors fault but it just felt like a war of attrition at the end with Warriors players dropping with old and new injuries. The Warriors have been my favorite team ever since Mark Jackson coached them but I really enjoy watching the Raptors play this season and post-season. I am happy for them and for Canada. I just wish we could have seen each team with better health (Raptors themselves were limited with Kawhi's leg injury, etc). I also feel so bad for Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson. They went all "King's Road" and no-sold their existing injuries then got new ones. It was tragic and I'm concerned for their overall health and career.
Edit: Also really curious to see if Kawhi stays and what other movement we see this off season. Anthony David to LA isn't a surprise (Lebron/Rich Paul run that team now) but unless they can add a third player, they aren't going to have a lot of depth. I think Kuzma is really underrated and wants to prove himself though. I think LA is just waiting to get Ben Simmons down the line.
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