Playground Pick ‘Em: Was Vince v. Kobe really ever a thing?

Think about why you like Vince Carter. It’s about game, and how he runs it. Not saying that substance completely trumps style, but if Vince was all style and substance-free, we’d be over him by now. So would you. Instead, he resides in that rare space where style and substance share top billing. –SLAM magazine,…

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4 reasons the 2016 Warriors would lose to the 1996 Bulls (and 2 reasons they would win)

Once the 2015-16 Warriors lost to Cleveland in the NBA Finals, diehard fans were forced to unfog their glasses. That Golden State team was NOT the best in history.  They did not win the title. Even the qualifier “best regular season team” is not definitive, because of the difference in era gameplay. But most importantly, the…

Go Go Gadget Draymond: The Myth of a Sports Meritocracy

“Sports is where meritocracy exists.” Ever hear or read those words? Do you believe them? Be wiser not to. “The only true meritocracy is in sports. Every other field is subject to politics,” wrote one fan in a 2014 blog comment. I’m still laughing. Let’s be sober and to the point: We know the so-called…

NBA 3-Pointer: Is it Outdated?

The Boston Celtics took a team-record 46 three-pointers, early February, 2016. It was not only a team record, said Pardon the Interruption, it was the third-highest attempts in NBA history. There is a lot of noise about the high volume of three-point shots in the NBA. The opiners can’t exactly complain, because there are so many…

I’m About to Blow Up: Are These Athletes Overrated or Legendary?

Super Bowl #50 features up-and-comer Cam Newton, the playful and sly quarterback who is about as controversial as it gets in our constantly-offended society. More importantly, Newton is marketable—in terms of selling yogurt and giving the world something to talk about. “He’s the new face of the NFL,” said more than one sports talking head,…

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Notre Dame Fighting Irish: Still a Legitimate Mascot?

“[The Redskins name] receives the most public attention due to the name itself being defined as derogatory or insulting in modern dictionaries,” says Wikipedia. Controversy over Washington, D.C.’s NFL team name has been building in recent years. The term hearkens not only to a noble people, but to a past where early American settlers took scalps and skins of indigenous…