Super Bowl set, Video games and Super Bowl Food – WFNY Podcast – 2015-01-19
January 19, 2015Max Scherzer leaves the AL Central, signs seven-year deal with Washington
January 19, 2015Happy Monday, you guys. If you’re in the midst of a three-day weekend, here’s hoping you’re enjoying it.
So Pats and Seahawks, huh? While that New England game was a bust and a half, the final three game minutes plus the overtime period of the Seattle-Green Bay game may have very well been one of the most cinematic finishes I’ve watched in a very long time. I love Green Bay and their small town and their ownership structure, but I’ve long professed my jealousy for everything the Seahawks have provided for the fans of Seattle. I can’t believe there’s only one football game left for this season. Thankfully, it’s bound to be a great one.
TOUCHDOWN @Seahawks!!! @DangeRussWilson to @chopchop_15 for a seismic signal close to a real earthquake! #QuickShake pic.twitter.com/TWlukl4fYK
— PNSN (@PNSN1) January 18, 2015
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Smattered between all of the football talk, and seemingly replacing any positive discussions about a Cavaliers team who heads back to Cleveland having swept both Los Angeles teams on a back-to-back, was the fact that Minnesota Timberwolves forward Andrew Wiggins dropped 31 points in a winning effort against the Denver Nuggets. Naturally, the Hindsight Heroes are attempting to use this as some referendum on the Cavs “blowing” their trade of Wiggins for the injured and struggling Kevin Love.
Wiggins is a talent. He’s an incredible athlete who had the skill set to be the No. 1 draft pick in his entire class. Not every No. 1 pick is Anthony Bennett. And to get Love, a 25-year-old multiple-time All-Star and Olympian who could stretch the floor, it was going to cost the Cavaliers. Alas, Wiggins. As it would be, however, those same Heroes, in their valiant “I told you so” attempts,” have neglected to remember a few things: Wiggins is putting up some solid scoring efforts on the very team that Love (who some Cavs fans have already given up on) averaged 25 points and 12 rebounds per game. The Wolves have seven wins on the season, have largely been without their point guard and have apparently given Wiggins free reign to fill up the box score—freedoms he would not have had in Cleveland where, despite their 21-20 record, the team is vying for an NBA Championship. Yes, Wiggins’ defense would have fit in masterfully at the team’s shooting guard spot, so much so that they may not have had to make a deal for Iman Shumpert, but the goal this summer was to make the team’s contention window as wide as possible right out of the gate.
No one saw Kevin Love struggling as much as he has thus far though the season. Yes, there was going to be an adjustment period, but the guy’s shots just aren’t falling. There’s a very good chance that Andrew Wiggins ends up being a better player than Love when it’s all said and done, but the deal wasn’t about the future. It was about now and how the team coveted a floor-spacing power forward. It’s up to the medical staff to get him healthy and David Blatt to get him in the spots to succeed. None of these factors have anything to do with Andrew Wiggins, as much as we look for things to be upset about.
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Andrew Wiggins may be playing well, but I’d be lying if I said I still don’t wonder about what Joel Embiid would look like in a Cavaliers jersey. The rim protection. The post presence. The awesome Twitter account. Well, this piece out of Philly doesn’t paint the big man in too good of light in the way of maturity and work ethic—”source said he’s close to 300 pounds after being 250 pounds at Kansas last season.”
Reporters are not permitted to interview Embiid until he participates in a full, five-on-five scrimmage, a league policy the Sixers follow. Based on his rehabilitation program for predraft foot surgery, that time may not come until late April or May, if at all this season.
Instead, the public perception of him comes from his fun-loving Twitter pranks, or whether you believe what others say about him.
But here are the definite truths. …
I still think this kid has the potential to be one of the best big men in the NBA this side of Anthony Davis, but he can’t allow his down time to get the best of him.
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So, the 2015 AMSE National Magazine Award nominations came out last last week. Not only are GQ and The New Yorker rightfully nominated for “general excellence,” but plenty of electronic publications received their just due. The Atlantic is up for website honors; Slate and The Atavist received the nod for digital storytelling. But the nominations I’m most excited about come in the way of Grantland getting a nomination for outstanding use of video, ESPN The Magazine getting a nod for excellence in reporting, and Brian Phillips getting nominated for feature writing for his incredible piece on sumo wrestling (featured in this very space a few weeks back).
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Some cool notes in this FanGraphs piece regarding Tribe prospect Clint Frazier and his abandoning of certain leg movements in his swing. Leg kicks and toe taps.
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What do all of this AMSE nominations have in common? There’s a reason there isn’t a “hot take” category for achievement. Here’s this week’s edition of #ActualSportswriting:
“How the 1994 Cleveland Browns, the franchise’s least celebrated playoff team, remain relevant” by Tom Reed (Cleveland.com): “Two decades later, Louis Riddick recalls the New Year’s Day playoff game at old Municipal Stadium with remarkable clarity. The former Browns defensive back describes the smell of the hot dogs cooking at the vendor’s stand outside the antiquated home locker room. He pictures orange pom-poms being waved by a sellout crowd on an unseasonably warm Sunday afternoon.”1
“The Man Behind the Swag: Nick Young” by Lee Jenkins (Sports Illusrated): “Swag is an amorphous concept, difficult to define but easy to illustrate. Picture a 6′ 6″ shooting guard, five months from his 30th birthday, with a four-year, $21.5 million contract, dressed in a black Versace robe, digging into a towering bowl of Fruity Pebbles, while a photographer and his assistant chronicle every spoonful.”2
“The Fighting Indians Earns It” by Peter Rugg (SB Nation): “These Fighting Indians play for Haskell Indian Nations University. There are 40 tribal colleges scattered across the country, federally funded two-year programs primarily in small towns and reservations, but Haskell is the only four-year school. And if you trust the history, not all of the 14 players here tonight will be on campus come spring.”3
“John Hirschbeck’s Survival Guide” by Anthony Castrovince (Sports on Earth): “Breakfast. The Golden Rye Grille. The place is packed with high school kids on their winter break and families enjoying the holiday season. And here’s Hirschbeck, a few months after his 60th birthday and four days after Christmas, picking at a spinach and tomato omelet and telling you about the morning his youngest son died.”4
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And finally, this is not sports related, but I thoroughly enjoyed this essay by Mark Manson, especially the section about maturity and being “selective.”5
- I could put a Tom Reed piece in this spot roughly every week. He may very well be the best writer in Cleveland and gets to use his craft on the city’s most popular franchise. [↩]
- Jenkins came out firing with what may end up being one of the best hoops-based profiles of 2015. The rest of the world officially has a high bar to top. [↩]
- If you appreciate a good story about the unknown living in the shadows of a Goliath, you’ll love this one. [↩]
- While I was reactively upset about the recent upheaval at SoE, it’s pieces like this one by the former Tribe beat writer that make me wonder if the realignment was potentially better for all involved. Glad to see Castrovince getting these types of liberties after so many years on the grind. [↩]
- Brew du Jour will be back at some point in the near future. I don’t want to crowbar selections in here during time when I’m not drinking. Cheers! [↩]
19 Comments
I like Seattle as a whole – rooted for them last year, love their fans, etc. But at some point this season, they overplayed the “nobody believes in us” card (Bill Simmons TM pending), and watching EVERY SINGLE PLAYER THAT GOT INTERVIEWED *SCREAM* AT THE INTERVIEWER LIKE THEY DISRESPECTED HIS MOTHER sealed it for me – I was really bummed GB lost.
Now, why on Earth would Gordon be hanging out in Colorado? SMFH.
What’s the over/under on exit the plane to burning some hippy lettuce? 20 minutes?
http://bustedcoverage.com/2015/01/16/johnny-manziel-partied-with-josh-gordon-in-aspen/
And, Mr. Manziel, well, he is being true to his word, and just isn’t changing for anyone.
You watching this Mr, Shaw?
Been tired of them as a whole for at least two seasons.
Green Bay is going to suffer the pain of that loss for a long, long time. It wasn’t just one guy or just one thing. So many missed opportunities and so many goats on that team. Two main take-aways: (1) Don’t start running out the clock in the third quarter. (2) Don’t celebrate until you’ve won.
I hate the Seahawks and their loud mouths. I hope the Pats drill them.
Speaking of which, underinflated footballs? You never know what Billy Boy is going to pull next.
Yes, Josh and Johnny in Coloweedo. What could go wrong?
Completely agree. And stop with the bawling. Was really hard to watch the post game. How are a bunch of girls going to beat the Pats?
I’m with you.
I hope The Hoodie can devise a game plan to shut their obnoxious pieholes.
The Puig story might be the best thing i’ve ever read on ESPN.com.
Lets go Pats!!!
I’m genuinely surprised to see such anti-Seahawks sentiment here, particularly given their upcoming opponent. The Seahawks are almost EXACTLY the team I wish our Browns to one day be: incredible defense, run-oriented attack, a QB with actual leadership skills. I’d rather avoid incorporating neon into the color scheme, but otherwise I’m all for their model of development. They are the world champs and are headed back to defend their crown. They just pulled off one of the great playoff comebacks ever. I’m going to forgive them for bring boisterous and emotional–just once I’d like to see our players like that after doing something besides winning a mid season Thursday night game. Are some of their players a bit grating? Welcome to pro athletes. We should be so fortunate as to have a team and players like that. And given the choice between them and the Hoodie and the Uggs come Super Bowl Sunday? No contest.
It’s Pete Carroll. He developed the same mindset in his players at USC. I have no idea how he gets these guys to care and be as passionate as he does, but one cannot deny the results.
Disclaimer: USC fan wife. Also, I agree completely about the post-game stuff being annoying and many of the in between play antics. But, if it’s what gets the guys to buy-in, then you do what you have to.
A Michigan QB along with the HC that cut Bernie and was the guy in charge when the Brown’s left town and a team in the city full of annoying Red Sox fans. No, not cheering for the Pats unless they play Pitt or Balt and that won’t ever be in a SB.
Thank you.
My college allegiances don’t transfer to the NFL.
Once you’re a pro, I don’t care what school you played for.
Same here. They’re the model franchise.
On my team, sure. I’ll gladly accept any dirty Wolverines if they help the Browns.
In a random game where I am trying to drum up personal interest, I will use it 🙂
Holy cow, I did not realize that Hirschbeck’s younger son died. I remember reading up on him some time awhile ago in a feature done about him as the Indian’s bat boy. That is an incredible story/testimony and shows how a strong family can at least continue on in the face of tragedy. Thanks for the read.
You know you loved Steve Everitt. 😀
Absolutely. Even in the article about the ’94 Browns Scott linked to yesterday, there is Steve saying Steve things. Paraphrasing “Man, I hated the Steelers”
One of my favorite all-time Browns.