by John Walters
A Medium Happy 32nd to Katy Perry…..
Starting Five
There is no room for failure with these Warriors. A 70-win season and a championship is expected.
1. Return of the NBA
They’re baaaaaack.
The Golden State Warriors enter the season with a three-game losing streak and two former MVPs (Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant) in their starting five. The last time one team had two former MVPs on the roster was a few years back when the Lakers had both Kobe Bryant and Steve Nash, but both were in their twilight years. Curry and Durant remain in their primes.
This two-MVP experiment in California was a mistake
The Spurs, who visit Golden State tonight, return for the first time this century without Tim Duncan (who never won an MVP award) (<–Medium Happy regrets the error, as well as the era) on their roster.
Breakout All-Star this season? Second-year Suns guard Devin Booker, who was No. 5 in scoring in the preseason behind established studs DeMar DeRozan, Durant, James Harden and Curry.
The Suns’ 6’6″ 2nd-year guard out of Kentucky will be an All-Star this season. Book(er) it.
Will the Warriors and Cavs meet for a third consecutive time in the NBA Finals? Barring injury, yes.
2. Legends of the Fall League
Schwarber getting his Eddie Vedder on in Arizona
In Mesa and Scottsdale, Arizona, yesterday, not more than six miles apart, you could have spent a total of $16 to see Kyle Schwarber and Tim Tebow play baseball. The former may have earned a World Series ring a week from now; the latter is doing a good job, but is not a Major Leaguer. Last night the former Heisman Trophy winner went 0-4 and is now 2 for 24, or batting .083.
3. He’s No Don Rickles
Yesterday The New York Times printed a two-page spread of the 281 people, places and things that Donald Trump has insulted via Twitter during his campaign. When he goes low…
4. Dead Or Alive Singer Dead Not Alive
Burns was 57
The lead singer of Eighties New Wave act Dead Or Alive (“You spin me right round, baby, right round/Like a record, baby, right round right round“), Peter Burns, has died. A true eccentric, Burns was first married to a woman, then married to a man, and claimed that he was “addicted to cosmetic surgery.” ( <–Look out, Joe Buck), as he had as many as 300 procedures done, mainly on his face. The only thing not eccentric about Peter Burns was his name.
5. Taylor In Texas
Did you really think we were not going to mention that Taylor Swift played her one and only concert of 2016 last weekend in Austin, Texas? The former better half of HiddleSwift played before an estimated 80,000 fans at a motor speedway and for the first time played the song that she helped write, uncredited, for ex-beau Calvin Harris, “This Is What You Came For.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tscUgyW1WQQ
Here’s hoping she makes an appearance at the CMAs next week. They’re family, after all, and she needs a little home cookin’.
Music 101
After The Rain
God bless Nelson. No, I mean it. If you’re going to marry Late Eighties L.A. Hair Metal with a cheesy, blond version of Extreme, then go for it all the way. Matthew and Gunnar, twin sons of the legendary teen idol Ricky Nelson, went beyond Wilson Phillips in the early Nineties as scions with a taste for an MTV-ready hit. I’ll never blame them, and I think they had to be at least 60% of the inspiration for Wayne’s World.
Remote Patrol
World Series, Game 1
FOX 8 p.m.
It’s here. The Indians last won a World Series in 1948. The Cubs last played in a World Series in 1945. When the Cubs won the World Series, baseball had three teams in New York, two each in Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago and St. Louis, and none west of that last city. And 16 teams overall.
Duncan never won an MVP award?! See: 2002 and 2003 please…
YES! The long nightmare is over! No, not the Cubs &/or Indians in a World Series but my self-imposed sabbatical from writing about Sweet Pea! 🙂
And before I anger my friend Jacob with some, er, ‘tribal bashing’ , HEY JACOB! -congrats! Your dream World Series has come to pass! I’m so happy for you! Who are you rooting for? And come on, don’t just say you “want a good series”. PICK a side! Put some skin in the game! 🙂
Now, the bashing – I HATE the Warriors! I don’t hate any of the players & I certainly don’t hate the coach. I just hate the TEAM. Even the IDEA of such a team! The very idea of the team who JUST set a new RECORD for most games won in a season (a record many thought would “NEVER” be broken) & who employed the current & back-to-back MVP to be joined by the previous MVP (who just lost to said team in a conference final where his then team HAD been ahead, ahem 3-1) should be unconstitutional! Well, ok, maybe just against the NBA rules but it should not be allowed! Seriously, I lost almost all respect for Durrant. And DO.NOT.CARE. if or how many championships he wins on such a team. Those wins would be null & void in my eyes. They’d be bogus! And no, LeBron did NOT ‘do the same thing’ even though he was detested by many when he went to the woeful Heat in 2010 in search of his own championship. (Yes, I know the Heat won a championship in 2006 but had NOT been very successful since then & certainly did not have the current MVP on their roster let alone win 73 games the year before). If Durrant was in his mid-30s & still without a ring, it wouldn’t be such a big deal but THIS should enrage all the other players/teams/owners/fans.
I also find it irritating that the NBA allegedly ‘shoots’ for some version of “parity” with the Draft, limiting player & team salaries & yet, allowed such a “super team” to form. What the heck?! Of course, if Curry is paid even half what he is worth, there would not have been enough money for Durrant to come-a-callin’. Which means NEXT off-season should be “very, very interesting”.
I have to admit, I AM curious to see how 2 “Big Dogs” co-exist let alone LEAD their team. I’m assuming most folks believe Curry will take the D-Wade route (i.e. step back) but he is the 2-time MVP! I’m thinking – NOT. As long as they’re winning, all should be rosy, but the second things turn a bit negative, the bitchin’ will commence. (I’m REALLY looking forward to that! 😉 )
And whether or not the Warriors win this year’s championship they will STILL BE THE ONLY (or at least 1st) TEAM IN HISTORY TO HAVE LOST A CHAMPIONSHIP WHILE LEADING 3-1!
GO CAVS!
LONG LIVE KING JAMES!
🙂 🙂 🙂
Susie B.,
Give me Cleveland in 7. As mentioned by JW last week, I think Cleveland will exploit Lester via smart base running tactics. Whereas Chicago could win by the long ball, I think Cleveland gets it done by strategically maneuvering their base runners and dominating the late innings with their bullpen.
Chicago is so dangerous, I believe, because they can have one or two big innings, which essentially decide the game. One three-run shot in the third inning could easily decide the game.
Good luck to your Cavs this year. It does surprise me, however, the ill will you have towards the Warriors. If I were you, I’d be hoping for a season in which the Warriors statistically dominate, KD wins MVP, Green wins defensive player of the year and the entire season is filled with Warrior love.
Then, in the heartland, Cleveland can quietly put away the East, while Lebron sits at home watching Sportscenter anchors glamour over that Bay Area team. Anger builds within.
Come playoff time, the Warriors sweep their first two rounds, lose a game 3 in the WCF to the Clippers (but win the series in 5) and look unstoppable come the Finals. Cleveland, on the other hand, sweep their first round opponent, get slightly tested in the second round (but win in 5) and then get challenged by Boston in the ECF, causing many to question if the Warriors may sweep the Cavs in the finals.
Then, BOOM. Cavs defeat the Warriors in Game 7 at the same exact location they did so last year.
One more thing – you’d think that mouthy co-owner would have learned about KARMA last year….
Additional proof that I’m not totally LBJ-biased : I just opened a position in UA today. I’ve been waiting for more than a year & thanks to the ER & falling price, I’m in. Sorry Sweet Pea but there’s more growth in Under Armour than Nike. Plus, it’s a MARYLAND company!
Re the October 25, 2016 post Dead or Alive Dead not Alive: that is NOT Pete Burns pictured on the left, its another member of the band, who was the drummer if I remember correctly. I guess plasticsurgeryfact.com is to blame for the error since its their pic, but still.
Thought y’all should know, three years later…
What a big mistake! The boy about”before” Pete Burns is Steve Coy,not Pete!