Tale of Two Halves: Cavs-Celtics Game 3, Behind the Box Score
May 21, 2017What is wrong with Danny Salazar?
May 22, 2017Happy Monday, WFNYers. I had set out to exclusively discuss Chance the Rapper’s Cleveland stop from this past weekend, but the final five minutes of Game 3 changed things up a bit.
A few thoughts on the Cavs:
As a fan of the Cavaliers who also has a responsibility to be fair and objective in terms of my coverage of the team, the most disappointing part of the Cavaliers dropping Game 3 is the lack of a closeout game at home. Since they beat the Atlanta Hawks in 2015, the Cavaliers have closed out every series on the road. This, of course, tends to be the case when you sweep series more often than not.
The thing is: That night, the one following the Game 4 win over the Hawks, was one of the most surreal experiences a fan could have. Sure, things were different then. The Cavs had yet to win a title, but it was LeBron James’ first year back and the team was without Kevin Love. The way everyone from ownership down to the equipment folks were posing for pictures and exhibiting what can best be defined as uncontrollable glee amidst a sea of confetti. It was just an incredible moment.
When the Cavs thumped the Celtics in Game 2 and it became known that Isaiah Thomas would not be playing in Game 3, the first thing I thought of was this moment. The last time the Cavs were the 2-seed, they were able to close out at home before heading to the NBA Finals. A win Sunday and a sweep completion on Tuesday, while loaded with chicken counting and entitlement, was there for the having. This was, of course, until an Avery Bradley three-pointer fell through the net with one-tenth of a second remaining.
As a reporter who told everyone who would listen that my prediction was “Cavs in 5,” I realize the irony here. As a fan of the Cavaliers, irony goes out the window when expectations are altered by 41-point halftime leads and 17-point spreads.
There’s a chance that the Cavs still get a closeout game at home, but this would have to include one more loss. I’m not that selfish. Win this damn thing and let’s get back to the Finals—preferably in one piece with some time to kill between series. Compromise.
A few thoughts on Chance the Rapper:
I get my word from the sermon
I do not talk to the serpent
That’s the holistic discernment
Daddy said I’m so determined
Told me these goofies can’t hurt me
I just might make me some earl tea
I was baptized like real early
I might give satan a swirlie
As Chance the Rapper’s “Be Encouraged” tour rolled through a rain-soaked Cleveland, midway through his 19-song set, was this passage from “All We Got,” the opening track from the Grammy Award-winning “Coloring Book.” The album itself was celebrated from the moment it was released on a Friday morning in May through the end of the year when music aficionados across the web discussed the best albums of 2016, but when it was time for the second verse, Chance (short for Chancellor Bennett) switching things up.
As the music from The Social Experiment (his band which consists of a drummer, keyboardist and trumpet player which featured three backup vocalists) played in the background, Chance spoke the passage above at a whisper-like level. He repeated it three more times until crescendo where Blossom Music Center erupted as the rest of the verse continued on—”Wish I could tell you it’s ready, tell you it’s ready today…” It was an incredible moment that was a part of an incredible night. Whether it was the moments between songs where Chance recalled his days of playing at Case Western years earlier (the Blossom show was sold out with 20,000 filling the Cuyahoga Falls venue) or the heartfelt moment where he discussed losing his aunt to breast cancer just weeks earlier, it was a 90-plus-minute reminder of how fortunate the music scene is to have someone like him currently creating works of art rooted in storytelling and faith.
Throughout the entire evening, Chance mentioned “going on a journey,” one in which he wanted the fans to come with him. He weaved new music with songs from older mixtapes that only his hardcore fans would know. He sang bars from Kanye West songs he appeared in (“Ultralight Beam”) and ones he was supposed to appear in before West changed things up at the last minute (“Waves”). He sang his verse from DJ Khaled’s “I’m the one” and finished with a lengthy version of “Blessings (Reprise)” that would make jam bands jealous—”I speak to God in public. He keep my rhymes in couplets.” It would only be the end of the show before he unveiled that the journey he had spoken of throughout the night was his desire to get to heaven, and that he wanted everyone present to join him in living life with that being the ultimate motivation.
The stories of Chance are writ large. He doesn’t sell his music. He recently donated $1 million to Chicago City Schools and put the mayor on blast to get things fixed. He held a festival several months back, and when he caught wind that brokers gobbled up all the tickets and were selling them at a premium, he bought them all back from the brokers and sold them himself at face value. I don’t know what we did to deserve a musician like him, but I’ll take it. His Friday night show was simply the latest chapter in the Book of Chance.
This Week in #ActualSportswriting:
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- “It’s good to be the world’s 119th-ranked golfer” by Ira Boudway (Bloomberg Business)
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This Week in #ActualNonsportswriting:
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- “Pet Project: We Rate Dogs” by Megan Greenwell (Esquire)
- “Jinder Mahal Flexed His Way to the Top of WWE” by David Shoemaker (The Ringer)
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24 Comments
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This concert is where life comes full circle.
19 year old: I have to be back by 4pm.
Me: Why?
19 YO: Going to blossom.
Me: To see who?
19 YO: Chance the Rapper
Me: Who’s that?
Chance the Rapper?
Saturday, we went to The Q to see Tears For Fears and Hall & Oats.
Snapped this pic on the way in…
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/0f250c7da294196651ab78ec9e2da7af6839d23f99a52c4087ffe23f70ee589f.jpg
Scott, could you recommend a couple Chance songs? I’ve given him a few listens but nothing has connected so far
i couldn’t tell you the first thing about Chance … i never heard of any of his songs. i did see him on a Kit-Kat commercial. if the guy gave a million dollars to the Chicago school system , he must be a decent guy.
check out Otto Graham’s face mask.
hi RGB … i imagine you had a great time at that show.
Hey Scott, enjoyed as always. FYI- check the link on the pet rating article. gp
Fans had looks of disbelief after that loss last night. I love that we expect our teams to win now. It beats the alternative.
It’s tough without knowing what sort of music you traditionally enjoy.
If you’re into emo rock, I’d recommend this Francis and the Lights song that features him. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhtoDhlffsE
I mentioned Blessings, which is terrific. Here’s the “Reprise” but I recommend both https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0j8frgmdvgc
Finish Line: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfaKtyWlrlM
Same Drugs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKbEsG5XoO0
Fixed. thank you!
Tons of good stuff here: http://www.gq.com/story/chance-the-rapper-profile-2017
Highly recommended.
In hindsight, Game 3 had all the makings of a loss going in:
1. HUGE blowout win in Game 2
2. Other team’s star player out
3. Cavs returning home
Throw in what was either a passive-aggressive LeBron “lesson” to his teammates or just a bad performance from him, and this is the result. This team can be so damn weird sometimes, and not the quirky/funny kind, but more the “WTF is even happening?” kind. Still, Cavs in 5 made sense coming in, so there’s our one.
https://youtu.be/FYZfNZbn0SU
good stuff … thanks.
No love for Quincy Morgan?
“it was a 90-plus-minute reminder of how fortunate the music scene is to have someone like him currently creating works of art rooted in storytelling and faith”
There are others out there. They may not be as outwardly evident as Chance the Rapper (which is part of the art in and of itself), but they are there, winning Grammys (this year) and everything!
No. That one Hail Mary he caught isn’t enough to offset his ball-spinning hot-dogging at the end of the Bottle-throwing game.
In addition to Scott’s recommendations this track has been in regular rotation for me since it dropped…
https://youtu.be/n2XlD8uEiKw
I like to believe it is LeBron messing with Boston. He plans on losing every game in Cleveland and winning every game in Boston to make them question/regret getting the #1 seed.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/8f6d8e03281305d9b1e5edca663be04bed8938901a20e96fd9bf10a129658361.jpg
Ugh, rap needs to institute an immediate moratorium on auto tune.
His songs are interesting sound collages, and I appreciate the actual musicality of each track. I find the gospel motif a bit redundant, but that clearly seems to be his thing. Does he ever deviate from this sort of sound? As a Beatles fan, I often hold bands/performers in high regard if they reinvent their style and even move into new genres over time (my fellow Shaker alums Kid Cudi and MGK are good local examples who I think a great deal more talented than CTR).
Overall, doesn’t do much for me, but I get why people would be into it. Am genuinely impressed with his commitment to kids in Chicago