#awesome nba moments

[awesomenbamoments]

Ja Morant

#ja morant #nba #awesome nba moments

[sargeantposting]

A little earlier in the F2 season, we caught up with Williams Racing Academy Driver Logan Sargeant.

Wanting to get to know him just a little bit better, and with a big date in Austin now on the horizon, we tasked him with answering 22 questions about racing and life in general.

Here’s what he had to say…

What race day rituals do you have?

If weekends are going well, I tend to stick with the same underwear for each day. Before you worry, they’re different pairs! I have a Friday, Saturday, Sunday set. But if it’s not going well, I have to make a change!

What's your go-to coffee order?

Latte, but it's a double espresso before quali.

What's the inspiration behind your racing number?

This year it’s six because I can’t choose in F2, but when I am allowed to pick, it would be No3. Three for Dale Earnhardt, an all-out American hero.

Your favourite drink?

I’ve only just turned 21… but it’s water, of course.

If you had to cook one main course to impress a loved one, what would it be?

Oooo… I’m not much of a cook, but I can tell you what I would order in! I love a good prime rib.

What’s your favourite film?

Love the Jump Streets, but I’ve got a lot of time for Step Brothers. But if I had to choose out of the two, I’d go Jump Streets. I suppose I have to choose which one?! But 21 and 22 are both pretty good. Ah, I can’t decide.

Who is the toughest rival you've come up against so far?

It’s got to be the battle in Formula 3 between myself and Oscar Piastri.

Your favourite cheat meal?

Fortunately I have a quick metabolism, so they come relatively often… my American roots mean it would have to be a nice, juicy burger.

How many attempts did it take to pass your driving test?

Just one, which is apparently pretty rare for racing drivers! That’s including the practical and the theory.

Which track are you most looking forward to in 2022?

It’s got to be Monaco, but I’m looking forward to seeing the F1 team in Miami.

You can choose one song only to listen to before a race, what is it?

Lose Yourself - Eminem.

Is there one circuit not on your calendar that you'd love to race at?

Obviously it’s either Miami or Austin; to have a home race would be amazing. That said, I’d love to race at Suzuka some day.

Who is your favourite sports team outside of F1?

Anything Miami! We’re talking Heat, Dolphins, Marlins, Inter Miami… they’ve all got my support.

Least favourite exercise your trainer set for you in the offseason?

I’d say it’s got to be all the extra cardio I had to do to get ready for F2.

What's a better feeling, nailing a quali lap or executing a late overtake?

I saw what Nicky and Alex said to this answer and I have to agree. Nailing a quali lap all day long. It’s my favourite part of a weekend, I love putting it all on the line.

Is there anyone you idolised when growing up?

In racing, my first hero when I was a kid was, funnily enough, Jeff Gordon. I just loved watching him and the way he fought on track.

Favourite sport that's not F1?

At the moment, I’d have to say NFL. But it switches between that and the NBA.

If you could invite anyone in the world to a dinner party, which three people would you choose and why?

I would invite Leo DiCaprio, I feel he’s kind of cool. Then let’s also invite Margot Robbie and Brad Pitt. Let’s make it an A-List movie night!

What is your favourite Grand Prix?

Well, I could be biased and say Austin. I mean, how can you argue against 450,000 fans across the three days last year? That was pretty awesome. But I’ve got to say I love Silverstone as well.

What's been your favourite moment of your career so far?

My rookie race in Macau where I finished third. Definitely, 100%, hands down my favourite track in the world.

One word to describe how you're feeling about the 2022 season?

Confident.

One word that best describes Williams Racing to you?

Supportive.

#logan sargeant #format:clips #year:2022

[c4tth3w]

matthew Q&A for GQ <3

Here’s a recap of everything that’s happened to Matthew Tkachuk over the last five weeks. First, he and the Florida Panthers took down the Boston Bruins in one of the biggest upsets the NHL has ever seen: Florida came back from a 3-1 deficit in their first-round series to oust the team with the best regular-season record in league history. Both Games 5 and 7—elimination games for the Panthers—went to overtime, and Tkachuk was heavily involved. He netted the game winner in the fifth game and assisted on the Game 7 knockout punch that sent Florida to the next round.      

The Panthers completed a gentleman's sweep of the Toronto Maple Leafs in the second round, and shortly after that, Tkachuk was named a finalist for the Hart Trophy, given to the NHL’s Most Valuable Player. The Eastern Conference Finals pitted Florida against the Carolina Hurricanes, a juggernaut that would have had the league’s best record if not for the Bruins going supernova. The Panthers only needed four games for them. The final fixture of that series provided the biggest moment of Tkachuk’s career. With just 4.3 seconds left in regulation, Tkachuk buried the goal (his fourth game-winner of the playoffs) that clinched Florida’s first trip to the Stanley Cup Final since 1996.

The Panthers have one more challenge standing between them and Lord Stanley. The Vegas Golden Knights, owners of the best record in the Western Conference, are no slouch. Bringing down a fourth 100-point team would be a fairytale ending to the Panthers’ postseason march—and very much in line with the fairytale that the 25-year-old Tkachuk has been living. (He uses the word “unreal” frequently.) As his Panthers have climbed the postseason ladder, Jimmy Butler has worn Tkachuk’s jersey, strengthening the bond between two South Florida underdogs gunning for improbable championships. Tkachuk has also appeared on Inside the NBA, and by sweeping Carolina, he’s had some leisure time to soak up the sun before starting the Stanley Cup Final. In his first year in Florida after six with the Calgary Flames, Tkachuk has adjusted accordingly to the tropical lifestyle. As he told GQ in a recent interview, there are far worse places to be.  

You’ve had a lot of time to chill. What the hell have you been up to?

I’ve been hanging out and going to the beach a lot. I’ve taken a few quick trips. One of the perks of living in Florida is you have the ocean right there. It’s super good for your body and mind to go in there—it’s pretty peaceful in there. I’ve gone out a couple times for dinner. But mostly I’m just staying quiet at the house. I don’t know, I’m really trying to put everything into the Stanley Cup Final. I’m at the rink every single day, some days to skate and some days to recover. Obviously, I’m using everything in the basket to try and win it all here. 

Oh, I went to the Heat game the other night! I got to see Game 6 and sat with Charles [Barkley] and Shaq for a little bit.  

How fun was it to guest on Inside the NBA and witness that legendary Charles and Shaq energy up close?

It was awesome! It all happened last minute—literally that morning I was asked if I wanted to come to the game and talk with Charles and Shaq. Hell yeah! Let’s do it. But what was really cool was talking to those guys off camera. That’s when we were really talking. Hockey, sports, golf, just talking about everything, getting to pick their brains, and learn about stuff I don’t really know about was super entertaining. 

Are you more of a Charles or a Shaq?

That is tough. It was crazy that I got to meet them. I think that [dynamic] would be a great comparison for how me and my brother [Ottawa Senators captain Brady Tkachuk] are. We bicker a lot. But we’re really tight and actually best friends. Always there to chirp each other and have fun. They were both unreal players too. I watched more of Shaq, because he was closer to my generation, but I just watched Charles in the Dream Team documentary. I don’t know who I would be.

You’re in South Florida now, but I just learned that you went to high school in St. Louis with Jayson Tatum. So who were you rooting for in that Heat-Celtics series?

I honestly just loved going to watch Jayson and Jimmy Butler. I didn’t care about the final score. I know all the people in St. Louis would be pissed at me if I was rooting against Jayson and all the people here probably wouldn’t be happy if I was rooting against the Heat. I thought it’d just be easier to root for a couple players. Now that the Heat are in the Finals and I have zero allegiance to the Denver Nuggets at all—if the Heat can pull off the upset it’d be unreal for all of South Florida. 

The idea of playing hockey in Florida always has this kind of funny connotation. It’s a relatively new franchise, you’re playing in warm weather in the south, it’s a very opposite idea of what most people have in their head when they think of the NHL. But you’re making it all sound pretty great.

It’s the top destination in the NHL. When you look at it—this is my opinion, and I would say most people’s opinion—the top two destinations in the league right now are the Florida teams. Third would probably be Vegas. It’s funny how that’s who we’re playing in the Final. People probably don’t look at Florida as the biggest hockey market, but Tampa’s won all these Cups recently and been to a bunch of Finals, the Panthers had some good runs before I got here, and when you go out West, Vegas has been right there at the top. Dallas has been right there too. These warmer climate markets aren’t the same as Toronto or Montreal, but the success that everyone’s had down here is no secret.  

When I chose to come here, the number one reason was to be on a competitive team, compete for championships year over year, right behind that was the way of life. But you’re not just coming here to live the Florida life, you’re coming here to win. It’s just a perk that you get to live in Florida on top of all that. My life has changed so much since coming [to Florida]. The lifestyle has been unbelievable. The way I’m able to live down here is insane. It doesn’t get better, anywhere. Playing in the U.S., having these opportunities with people like Jimmy Butler and Charles Barkley, having way more nationally-televised games, competing for the Stanley Cup, that’s made not only myself but everyone on the team more of a name than we were before. 

Have you become a boat guy since moving to Florida?

I have not. I’ve gotten as far as a few jet skis. I’m not a boat guy. I like to go on boats, but I don’t want to drive a boat. No chance I could park it. 

How many texts did you get after scoring the game-winning goal to go to the Final? Was your phone just unusable?

I don’t know, probably close to 400 or 500. This run has been unreal. 

After scoring that goal, when did reality set in?

I don’t think it felt real until the next day. With that goal, I knew there wasn’t much time left. When Ryno [Sam Reinhart] shot it off the post, I figured we had about ten seconds, maybe a little bit less. The next few chances, whether it was one or multiple, had to be on the net quick. I sort of just walked out from behind the net. I knew I had a little bit of time to make a move, but not much. Once I saw it go in I was the happiest person ever. First thing I did was look up to see if I got it in on time, and saw there was four seconds left or whatever. I don’t know what I was thinking after that! I did the slide [celebration] and it felt like the roof was going to come off because it was so loud. Then I got a little nervous because [the Hurricanes] challenged it [for goaltender interference], and you never know with challenges. But, it was obviously a good goal, and that was the moment where I was like, “Holy shit. That just happened.”

When I got back home I hung out with some family and friends and talked about how crazy of a night that was. I woke up the next day, which thankfully was an off day, and just thought, “Wow, Stanley Cup Final, here we come.” I’ve seen enough highlights of the goal just from being in places where it’s on TV—and trust me, I love seeing it—but I don’t want that goal to define the season. 

When the puck drops on Game 1, it’ll be your first game since May 24. Is the concept of rust mostly a myth, or is that something that you guys are actually talking about and acknowledging?

You know what? We had a week off before the third round and maybe there was a little bit of rust in the first period. That’s something that we’re going to learn from. In the playoffs, with days off—even if there’s ten of them—it’s great for players that have some bumps and bruises.

You’ve gotta be pretty beat up at this point of the year. Does everything hurt when you wake up? 

When you win it doesn’t hurt that much.

From your perspective, why is a lower seed making it all the way to the Final much more common in hockey than it is in other sports?

Well, it’s happening right now in basketball, too! But it’s really just, once you get in, everything resets back to zero. We got into the playoffs by one point. When it came down to that—then we realized, holy shit we’re playing the Boston Bruins, the best regular season team in NHL history. [But] none of that really mattered anymore! It was 0-0. Let’s go. It gave us confidence. We do a great job of keeping our focus solely on each game. That’s what’s made us have a lot of success.  

It’s gotta be that plus whatever they’ve put in the water down there that’s given you and the Heat superpowers.

[chuckles] We’re feeding off each other.

I know that hockey players are famously superstitious, but I’m wondering if you’ve allowed yourself to think about what you would do with the Stanley Cup if you get your day with it. 

It’s natural to think about that stuff. But every time I go down that road I pinch myself and try not to. The one thing you do think about constantly is that feeling you’d have from lifting the Stanley Cup for the first time. That’s gotta be the most amazing thing in your whole life. One team is going to do it—hopefully it’s us.   

What’s up with Brooks Koepka? He seems to be the Panthers’ fan ambassador right now, and he’s intense! It’s clear that it’s not an act at all—he really cares! 

I actually just met him right after Game 4. He wanted to come down and meet me. I got a picture with him and got to chit chat for a little bit. He’s really excited. It’s great to see support from other athletes. Success in a tight community makes everyone pull for each other. Him and the rest of the fan base has been unreal. This building is so loud. We were talking about in the offseason—which is hopefully a few weeks from now after winning the Stanley Cup—maybe we can link up and golf somewhere. 

#LEGEND #matthew tkachuk #txt

[optimistredsox]

31 Mar, BOS @ SEA, 5-1, win

I'll take our pitcher dealing over a pitchers' duel any day, and Garrett Whitlock dealt on Easter Sunday. I'll also just happily take a no-doubter win after two, close, heartbreaking losses (can losses be heartbreaking this early in the season? yes, folks, yes they can). Heading back out on the road an even .500 feels a lot better than heading to Oakland on a series loss. And Seattle have a good pitching staff. So winning against them is good. Anyway. The first series of a billion (or something like that) is done and we're off. The season is properly here. Not as properly here as when both the NBA and NHL are done, but close. It's fun. Anyway, we won and there are bright sides.

Garrett Whitlock went five innings, struck out eight, gave up one run and didn't walk anyone. He allowed three hits. That is good baseball.

The bullpen also did brilliantly. They gave up a hit and a walk and struck out two. Slaten pitched two and a third and ended the game on a strikeout. Love it.

Tyler O'Neill put the Sox on the board with his second homer of the season. He's hitting .400 at the moment. Small sample size but hey. He had two hits and scored twice.

Enmanuel Valdez also hit a dinger. A three-run shot of immense parabolic proportions into right field. Man he pulled that. I remember him hitting some pretty cool and important dingers last year as well. That is good. Keep hitting important and long and awesome dingers Enmanuel.

The lineup were strong in general. Trevor Story had a couple of hits and only two players had 0-fers, one of whom walked and scored a run anyway (Tristan Casas). The only total 0-fer was Jarren Duran, who's probably just exhausted from all the war and political turmoil on Arrakis (for those who don't remember, I have a long running joke that Jarren Duran's name sounds like a character from Frank Herbert's "Dune" and so frequently allude to him splitting time between playing for the Sox and riding sandworms... I should never explain my jokes).

Reese McGuire also had a couple of hits and knocked in a run. I remember him doing stuff like that last year too. Oddly enough, the run he knocked in wasn't even on one of his hits, it was on a groundout. A swinging bunt that he obviously didn't want to do that but still ended up ok.

We didn't make any errors. Those were a Saturday thing. Hopefully.

We won!

We don't have a losing record anymore!

I'm still excited that baseball is back! That seems to directly correlate to when we win baseball games!

#boston red sox #red sox #boston #mlb #mlb 2024

[female-buckets]

Hoop Muses sounds really interesting - I'd say its been in the works for a while, because I remember Kate Fagan having Sue Bird and Megan Rapinoe on a podcast ages ago and talking about just that. How every time Women's sports has a moment it gets almost brushed aside so you have to do it all over again. They made a great point about how for Megan to do what she did, she had to have had the Perfect situation. She led the team to a lawsuit against the federation, she was attacked by the president and went on to score the game winning goal in every single knock out game she played in, including the final and won the whole thing - every individual and team trophy. If she failed in any aspect of that is she and the SNT in the same position today? And we're beginning to see the legacy part - the WNBA leaning on its history, etc, and I wonder in that situation how valuable having the longevity of Sue, Dee, Sylvia, CP is - in many ways they are touchstones of the earliest in the league. Does that have an impact on the success of the league? I'm really looking forward to the book.

Yeah, the book looks awesome.

The thing is, there's been plenty of perfect moments like that in women's basketball. And it still hasn't helped. The reason Megan's situation was acknowledged by the American public is because they had rudimentary cultural respect for women's soccer. There's no men's soccer pop cultural phenomenon that Americans can use to discredit women's soccer. So when a women's soccer story happens, the American public is receptive enough to at least listen to the story.

That's not how it happens in women's basketball. Whenever there's a perfect story in women's basketball, the American public criticizes the WNBA and says "no one watches this." But they're not talking about the hundreds of thousands of fans who buy tickets each season. They're not talking about the millions of TV viewers. They're talking about celebrities. There's no recognizable celebrities sitting courtside at WNBA games.

The courtside celebrity stat is something unique to American pro basketball. There's no dynamic like that in soccer or football. This is a basketball thing. If celebrities don't sit courtside at WNBA games, it won't matter how many perfect moments these women create. As long as there's no courtside celebrities, Americans will undervalue women's basketball.

People watch NBA games because they see celebrities there. Seriously. I know that sounds ridiculous and it is ridiculous. But that's just how American cultural capital works. It really is that simple. Cultural capital is one of the main things Kate Fagan talks about in this podcast about the book. (@14:00 and again @44:00)

#wnba

[bigzaynba]

All About Stephen Curry: Wins Awards And Historic NBA Moments | Big ZayNBA

All About Stephen Curry: Wins, Awards, And Historic NBA Moments | Big ZayNBA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0zkaa0UULeo Check out the awesome journey of Stephen Curry, the three-point master, and how he changed the NBA game. From his early days getting picked by the Golden State Warriors to being a massive part of their championships, this video shows it all. See Curry break records and revolutionize the game, not just in the NBA but also by promoting gender equality and inclusivity in sports alongside the WNBA. Discover how Curry's influence goes beyond the court, from his charity work to his worldwide recognition as a sports superstar. You don't want to miss the exciting NBA vs. WNBA three-point challenge, where Curry and Sabrina Ionescu show off their insane skills and sportsmanship. 🌟 Subscribe for more basketball legends' stories and epic sports moments. Like, comment with your favorite Curry moment, and hit the bell icon to stay updated! ✅Chapters of video: 00:00 Stephen Curry's NBA Draft and Early Career 01:19 Curry's MVP Awards and NBA Titles 02:30 NBA vs. WNBA Three-Point Challenge Highlights 03:55 Promoting Women's Basketball and Inclusivity 05:20 Curry and Yonescu's Friendship and Respect 06:14 Curry's Legendary Performance Against the Pacers 07:24 The Importance of Team Success This video is about All About Stephen Curry: Wins, Awards, And Historic NBA Moments. But It also covers the following topics: Golden State Warriors Championships NBA All-Star Performances Career Milestones In Basketball Video Title: All About Stephen Curry: Wins, Awards, And Historic NBA Moments | Big ZayNBA 🔗Stay Connected With Us. 🔔Enjoy the excitement of NBA basketball like never before with Big ZayNBA! Subscribe now for awe-inspiring slam dunks, clutch plays, and unforgettable moments. https://www.youtube.com/@bigzay46/?sub_confirmation=1 ✅ For Business Inquiries: [email protected] ============================= ✅ Other Videos You Might Be Interested In Watching: 👉 Do the Mavericks need another superstar to win the championship? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DiYrZPrJlUs 👉 The Curse of Kevin Durant: Unveiling the Mysteries of NBA Misfortune https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxitcIymsSQ 👉 Victor Wembanyama: The Greatest Rookie of All Time? 🌟 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yHsF7JcQ44s 👉 Golden State Warriors are making a comeback! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwyzyM04o0w 👉 Top 10 Young NBA Stars With Amazing Potential https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9oMGWX8Plvg ============================= ✅ About Big ZayNBA. Welcome to Big ZayNBA! Get ready to immerse yourself in the thrilling world of NBA basketball. From jaw-dropping dunks to game-winning shots, we've got it all. Join our community of hoops enthusiasts and never miss a moment of the action. Subscribe to stay updated with our weekly videos every Saturday at 8 am. Let's hoop it up together! For Collaboration and Business inquiries, please use the contact information below: 📩 Email: [email protected] 🔔Elevate your basketball experience with Big ZayNBA! Subscribe to enjoy the most exhilarating NBA moments – from jaw-dropping dunks to game-changing plays. https://www.youtube.com/@bigzay46/?sub_confirmation=1 ================================= #stephencurry #nba #wnba #three-pointer #goldenstatewarriors #basketballlegends ⚠️DISCLAIMER: We do not accept any liability for any loss or damage incurred from you acting or not acting as a result of watching any of our publications. You acknowledge that you use the information we provide at your own risk. Do your research. Copyright Notice: This video and our YouTube channel contain dialogue, music, and images that are the property of Big ZayNBA. You are authorized to share the video link and channel and embed this video in your website or others as long as a link back to our YouTube channel is provided. © Big ZayNBA via Big ZayNBA https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0xFNdoKko1iFWGLZzenmLg April 20, 2024 at 06:00PM

#nba #basketballgenius #sportsanalysis #risingstar #winningstrategy #richestathletes #goldenstatewarriors #youngtalent

[diezjasper]

Stephen Curry 3 Point Clutch

Hello everyone, welcome to Basketball buzz🏀🏀

Steph Curry Makes a 38 foot 3 point clutch against the OKC

with 15 seconds left in the game 4th quarter Russell Westbrook tries to shoot and drives to the lane but misses!! Andre Iguodala rebounds the ball with 8 seconds left, he passes it to Stephen Curry. Stephen Curry dribbles the ball trying to get pass by his defender struggling trying to get past him. He Dribbles the ball behind his back with time ticking down and 5 seconds left curry jukes and takes a step back with the score 118-118. With 2 seconds left!! He shoots it from 38 foot. And Banks it in and a buzzer beater!!! with the score 121-118 winning the game!!

Steph Curry came up clutch on the first day of the NBA's In-Season Tournament, but his game-winning basket against Oklahoma City was not without controversy. Strive to do your best, just like when Curry made that awesome 3-pointer from really far away with only 2 seconds left. Practice a lot because that's how you get really good. If you want, you can share your thoughts or any cool basketball moments with Basketball Buzzers. We love hearing from you and talking about basketball. See you next time!

#3

[anthonybialy]

Embarrassed By Patriots with 2023 Twist for Buffalo Bills

What year is this?  Losing to New England isn’t supposed to be a tradition anymore for the Buffalo Bills.  A relapse is way worse considering the franchises supposedly crossed paths on respective tracks.  The supposedly better one better be as embarrassed as its fans are.

The score was 10-0 after one quarter just like everyone guessed.  The Bills play like they’re not morning people deep into the afternoon.  A leisurely approach to getting started drags down the record in the season’s middle.

Professionals shouldn’t need adjustment time.  Showing up at kickoff is one of the job responsibilities.  Game-playing millionaires should know the value of playing intensely from the start.  The Bills can’t work from home.  It’s time to pay this roster hourly, as they can’t be trusted to put in work while on salaries.

A lack of focus blurs hopes.  Buffalo has spaced out early in games and the schedule.  They’re running out of time to become awesome both in individual and broader samples.  It’s nearly November in case you couldn’t tell because Halloween decorations have been up since Independence Day.  The season only seems eternal.  By the time Christmas decorations are up this weekend, nearly half the football one will be a memory kept in consciousness by an unimpressive record.

Idlers knew deep down they could only feel inspired by the Bills for so long.  Waiting until the final quarter leads to a comeuppance for arrogant loafers.  This club is playing as if they think coasting on talent will win them another division.  The Bills are surprised by lousy grades after writing term papers on the bus.  Blame typos on potholes.

The only thing worse than Ken Dorsey learning on the job is him not learning.  John Y. Brown is more popular amongst Buffalo fans.  Conditioning a rushing quarterback to not rush is a nice touch.  Meanwhile, the coach who started his Buffalo career getting a team to overachieve is now overseeing underachieving.  The eternally perspicacious Pegulas gave Sean McDermott an extension just like they did Don Granato if we’re still into that One Buffalo thing.

Dorsey would rage about the defense if he knew it wouldn’t get him canned from an undeserved job.  It’s easy to determine who played well when the list is so short.  Look away from mortifying tackling paired with unimpressive attempts at coverage lead to an offense-level meltdown.  I’d would rather have ‘90s Sabre Dane Jackson in coverage than the present Bill.  Christian Benford is playing like a BCS school alumnus who was the 185th pick.  Taron Johnson is finally known, and now it’s for the wrong reason.

You’re just missing the long game.  Making Mac Jones look amazing suckers the Patriots into thinking he’s their quarterback solution.  Then they wouldn’t even get their first choice to replace him because winning hurts their draft standing during a season when they are playing for an insurance settlement.  You didn’t think the Bills just played badly because they’re overrated, did you?

There’s no reward for suffering.  A just world would feature steady enjoyment of New England’s descent into its eternal spot.  Instead, Buffalo helped Satan’s favorite coach get his 300th win in a moment that brought back the kind of painful memories that resurface when your alarm’s going off in five hours and your brain flaunts its sense of humor by reviewing every torment.

Frustration at idling was so thorough that complaining about officiating is an afterthought.   The NFL apparently can’t have a play clock alarm.  Why won’t the NBA loan them shot clock buzzers?  This league is notorious for never making money, which is also why they can’t implement a tennis-style imaging system that can spot where the ball is to determine first downs and scores.  Scraping together enough to make the game fair seems like it’s worth skipping an iced cappuccino treat or two.  Next, make offsetting personal foul committers sit for five plays each instead of nothing happening.

The Bills failed a test that wasn’t one.  Dominating as expected against a franchise that’s plummeting faster than my optimism wouldn’t have moved them up power rankings.  But they couldn’t even manage that modest feat in perhaps this season’s most mortifying example of falling short.  Blaming the inherent toughness of divisional matchups is an excuse this team isn’t granted.

Falling short gets to the point where exceptions become the rule.  We call that the Dawson Knox standard.  Hopefully, he’ll be able to catch footballs after surgery in a way he couldn’t before.  Listlessness is no longer merely a phase.  The club can’t shrug off barely getting past the imploding Giants.  The Bills have already blown a high percentage of their 17 chances.

Shiftlessness always catches up.  The Bills have been avoiding hangovers despite debauched nights.  They got plastered during Sunday Night Football and woke up fine.  But indulging finally dehydrated them.  They have to shake wanting to sleep through a splitting headache, as they have to wake up by Thursday.  On a related note, the day after Amazon football night offers a good chance to fire a coordinator managing indolence.  The Bills simply don’t look right.  Wasting potential isn’t fun to watch.  The score merely offers confirmation.

#Buffalo Bills #NFL #AFC East #football #Ken Dorsey

[uncle-ak]

My PRODUCTIVITY After Becoming a DAD.

Firstly, Happy Father’s Day 2023 to all the Dads! #DadGang

I don’t know, maybe a better title would have been “My Quick Thoughts After Two Months as a Dad” ? See my previous post and you tell me :)

Anyway, I would definitely put myself in the “having kids helped me get my act together” group. Even though it aches me to admit it, before having children I was drifting. My life was comfortable, but I was reaching a professional and personal plateau. Even though I definitely have less time now, I am more efficient and able to say no to people and things with ease.

I should also add that my wife is an awesome mother and is very supportive partner.

As you may or may not know, we welcomed our first child a little over two months ago. In addition, I run a YouTube channel, have a full-time job, some side businesses, and I’m a husband. So its easy to see how I'm up to my eye balls with responsibilities because, yes, I’d absolutely argue each of those items individually can be a full time job on its own.

I can definitely understand the fear of having to pause pursuing all your passions because having kids put you in that corner of all responsibility for them and nothing else. You go to work to earn a living to provide for them and come home to begin taking care of their needs with no extra time to pursue side hustles like your Etsy shop business, for example.

The idea of ambition after having kids is a fascinating discourse. I don’t believe my ambition or productivity has diminished. As a matter of fact it has been amplified. I suppose that's a good thing, I'm not entirely sure. I place a higher value on time. My goals for life are much more distinct now. For me, having children caused a significant shift in risk tolerance.

One thing I’ve observed is that some people prioritize other things above their work to the point that it suffers. One of the issues is having too many children or simply not distributing tasks between spouses adequately. You might not see it from the outside looking in, but everyone you work with does.

Somebody might argue, “I am driven to get my life steady by becoming an accountant, for example, at the age of 25, and having children is not something I am considering at the moment.” They might think “after I turn 32, I want to have children then if I so choose.”

They are motivated to grow personally in hopes that becoming older won’t make it difficult is certainly plausible but hope is not a strategy. And while I am not here to advocate for being a dad at all cost or by force, I think its a blessing and does not impair life in any shape or form. In fact it clears a lot of things up.

Don’t wait — try now. If you want to have children, then go ahead and do it; don’t allow lack of funds be an excuse (having several children is another story). But if you do, think of a strategy to obtain additional funding to support it. But don’t sacrifice your quality of life to advance your career.

So how have I managed to stay productive while being a father to a newborn? Firstly, I have learned to just make time for it.

I find myself putting my cell phone down and outside of my office for one to two hour chunks of time to get stuff done. This is mostly when my kid is asleep or hanging out with mom. This works only when scheduled and communicated with your partner. That way you can then be more present when you are with your kids and doing parental activities or spending quality time. If its important to you, then there is time.

Secondly, I have learned to just give up some stuff. The power of saying ‘No’ is very effective. Listen, I love watching sports and right around this time is the thick of one of the most exiting games ever invented, NBA playoffs. If I have time to be productive on my YouTube channel or side business and on the other hand I could have just been watching a Game one in the Eastern Conference first round playoffs between two teams I don’t really care about, then The TV is not getting turned on. In the same regard, even though I didn't quite hand out much with friends without a family, I have learned to just say no and pick the most important of functions to show my face. Its just that simple. I’ll definitely come to your birthday or engagement party but I'm not going to brunch with you 3 Sundays in a month!

Thirdly, I have learned to get some sleep. If you know me you know I already love taking naps and going to bed as early as 9:30pm. But because sleep and productivity are closely related, it’s crucial to take advantage of any chance to get some shut-eye that does present itself. Chronic sleep deprivation makes it more difficult to focus, make decisions wisely, think creatively, and maintain overall work performance. So maintaining the bedroom as a sleep sanctuary, developing a wind-down time for bed, and minding the caffeine intake have been a good practice.

Lastly, I'll just say without a supportive spouse none of this works as intended and all the time. Shout out to my wife.

Having kids might discourage ambition, I hate to admit it. I’ve always been someone who is ambitious. That phrase hurts my heart to read in writing. I try to escape from it. But if there was nothing substantial there, why would I flinch? Once you have children, it is inevitable that you will care more about them than you do about yourself. Additionally, it’s a zero-sum game with attention. You can only focus your attention on one thought at a time. Once you have kids, it will usually be your kids, so your current endeavor won’t be as regularly in the news.

However, I think i can confidently say when you have children, life is just getting started.

[labelleperfumery]

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope Has Beer-Chugging Contest With Fan At Nuggets Parade

The Denver Nuggets’ NBA championship parade is officially underway … and things are already off to a hot start — with Kentavious Caldwell-Pope getting into a beer-chugging contest with a fan in the crowd!! The awesome moment went down as the… from TMZ.com https://www.tmz.com/2023/06/15/denver-nuggets-nba-championship-parade/

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#TMZ.com

[awesomenbamoments]

LeBron James

#lebron james #la lakers #nba #basketball #awesome nba moments

[middleageamerican]

Japanese World Series

dear Shuzo . . my final waking moments of Christmas 2022 was u speaking w Hana in Japanese . . awesome . . u r kind 2 make an effort 2 understand my Japanese Baseball World Series app search and try 2 help . . here’s more detail . . eye’ll start w the end . . here in this El Carretero 49 restaurant cafe panaderia . . NBA played on several screens . . Knicks of NYC and the Sixers of Philadelphia .…

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[tonkihey]

Love and basketball

#Love and basketball movie#

#Love and basketball movie#

She’s had a ball in her hands since she was 4 years old and she wanted her movie to represent basketball in the best way possible. Authenticity was extremely important to Gina. Many female athletes saw themselves in Sanaa Lathan’s awesome portrayal of Monica Wright. But make no mistake, it’s as relatable and genuine as it gets as far as sports movies go. It was the first basketball movie that was centered around a female ballplayer. The film was groundbreaking in many ways and was definitely a game-changer. This movie was revolutionary in many ways and influenced an entire generation of young, female hoopers. Gina Prince-Bythewood, the film’s director, was joined by Alfre Woodard, Kyla Pratt, Sanaa Lathan, Terilyn Shrapshire, and Candace Parker for a conversation that was mediated by Patty Jenkins where they touched on each and every aspect of the film from casting to its cultural impact. Love is a flick of the wrist, hearing the ball swooshing through the net.The band got back together to reminisce and discuss the impact and legacy of Love and Basketball. One more shot, one more move, one more game-winner. It takes me back to that kid playing in grandmas yard. That feeling takes me back to a 5-year-old kid that picked up a basketball for the very first time. Sometimes I’ll go to the local YMCA for a few hours to shoot around just to have that feeling again. My love for the game will never dissipate. Maybe only being 5'7 (1.7 m) has something to do with it. Or that I’ll never get to throw an alley-oop to LeBron James. Now that I’m 28, I’ve accepted the fact that I’ll never experience scoring a basket in the NBA. Rather it is basketball, baseball, football, volleyball, or softball. Then, using the famous MJ fade away with my tongue hanging out to hit the game-winner, 5–4–3–2–1… swoosh.Īny kid growing up who fell in love with a sport surely knows the feeling of passion and happiness the game can bring. Creating in-game scenarios on the driveway at my parents' house. Then, I’d play into the dark of the night with only a yard light to see the basket. I’d spend hours studying tapes of the greatest players, imitating their moves, and implementing them into my game. After YouTube launched in 2005, highlight tapes of basketball greats such as Michael Jordan, Allen Iverson, and Kobe Bryant became easily accessible. I played on teams throughout elementary, middle school, and high school. I hated losing more than I loved winning. My competitiveness and an insatiable desire for winning took over. I loved the days we’d play basketball in P.E. As I grew, the fascination for the game grew as well. The moment my fingertips gripped that composite leather, every ounce of love and passion for the game traveled through my veins, connecting the ball straight to my soul.įrom that day forward, I’d ask the neighbor kids if I could play anytime they were outside. I didn’t know what the hell I was doing I was certainly too short to play on their 10-foot hoop even if I did. That day, I finally mustered up the courage to ask, “can I play?”, they agreed. I was intrigued by this game the neighbor kids were playing, basketball. That’s when you knew it was time to get your ass home. So instead, we played Hide-and-Seek, Tag, or Red Rover until the streetlights came on. There was no iPhone to scroll social media all day, no Xbox to play Fortnite. See, back in the 90s, kids played outside. I remember being at my grandma's house, and her neighbors had a hoop in their driveway. I first picked up a ball when I was 4 or 5 years old.

#Love and basketball

[don-lichterman]

NBA Star Ja Morant Tips Waitress $500 in Heartwarming Viral Video

NBA Star Ja Morant Tips Waitress $500 in Heartwarming Viral Video

This video of Ja Morant tipping his waitress $500 is awesome 🔥 @JaMorant (via @shotbynie, h/t @DrewHill_DM) pic.twitter.com/HGwqXzcH4m — Overtime (@overtime) July 5, 2022 A heartwarming and hilarious moment was captured on video after NBA star Ja Morant left a $500 tip to an ecstatic waitress, who went on to jokingly quiz the Grizzlies’ point guard on the nature of his fame before running off in…

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[chalkbetty4]

<h1>Mma Bobblehead</h1>

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We have a full customer service staff outdoors of Atlanta, Georgia who's here that will help you in any method that we can. There are "companies" out there offering to upgrade the order to have the sculpting done by, what they name, a "grasp" to enhance the resemblance. I don’t know about you, but if I’m paying a considerable amount of cash for a personalised bobblehead, my expectation is to have skilled sculptors, with many years of expertise, work on my design - not an apprentice.

Prompting their resurgence were cheaper manufacturing processes, and the main bobblehead materials switched, this time from ceramic to plastic. It was now potential to make bobbleheads within the limited numbers needed for them to be viable collectibles.

#custom bobblehead

[emakegr]

NBA Top Shot seemed like a slam dunk — so why are some collectors crying foul?

https://emake.gr/wp-content/uploads/NBA-Top-Shot-seemed-like-a-slam-dunk-—-so.jpg

Mengxin Li / The Verge

What happens when the hype wears off?

In February 2021, Jesse Schwarz bought a Top Shot NFT of LeBron James dunking for $208,000, setting a record. It was the most expensive sale in the platform’s short history; at the time, the average price of a Moment — Top Shot lingo for an NFT — was $181.81, according to CryptoSlam. “To invest and set that record with the $208,000 purchase on LeBron just was an awesome Moment as a fan but obviously as an investor, too,” Schwarz told me then.

“The purchase I made about a year ago, that was kind of the peak.”

One of the things Top Shot had going for it was that it had a real-world analogue: trading cards. The experience was designed so that it wasn’t necessary for users to know anything about cryptocurrency. You could pay with a credit card. Onboarding materials avoided using words like “blockchain” on purpose, even though Dapper Labs had designed its own.

It is now June 2022, and Schwarz is still holding the NFT, but the number of monthly unique buyers on Top Shot tumbled by more than half. In May, the average price of an NFT on the platform was just $17.71. “The purchase I made about a year ago, that was kind of the peak,” Schwarz says. He then compared Top Shot Moments unfavorably to Bored Ape Yacht Club, another NFT project. The cheapest Bored Ape available as of June 6th is $163,298.67, according to CoinGecko.

What happened?

“The first question, obviously, if prices fall is how did they get so high in the first place?” says Michael Levy, another Top Shot collector. “And is that something that was something that Top Shot or the Dapper team did to lead prices that high? Is it something that they are responsible for keeping up at a certain level?”

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The way Levy figures it, there was a lot of hype around Top Shot, which led to the number of users increasing about a hundredfold. That slammed the Top Shot’s servers, and so there was a period where the company didn’t release new packs. That pushed prices up, which led to more media coverage, which led to new users, which pushed the prices up further. “And then we reached these very, very, very high levels that I don’t think anyone expected, the prices were up, I don’t know, 50 to 100 times over, like, a four week period,” Levy says.

The data from CryptoSlam backs that up: in December 2020, there were 910 unique buyers, and the average price for a Moment was $27.11. In January, there were more than 19,000 unique buyers, and the average price for a Moment was $80.20. By February, there were more than 80,000 unique buyers, and the average Moment price was $181.81.

“Basically what happened was — Top Shot was this massive boom,” says LG Doucet, the host of The First Mint, a podcast about sports NFTs. “It gave, like, hundreds of thousands of people their first NFT and helped them learn what an NFT is.” Doucet’s account aligns with Levy’s: the platform was overloaded with users and was often down. To try to compensate for the onrush of new users, Top Shot made lots of new Moments.

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“Top Shot just flooded the market with more and more Moments,” Schwarz says. “My LeBron Moment is still 149. But now there’s tons of other LeBron Moments, and they’re making new ones every month. And they just weren’t bringing new people in.”

Sure, there’s a speculative side to NFTs, says Jayne Peressini, VP of growth at Dapper Labs. But to Peressini, an NFT is a “tangible asset.” When a stock goes down, she says, she has less value — but when an NFT goes down, she still has the NFT. The same goes for a physical trading card. And, Peressini noted, the majority of actual trading cards aren’t worth much either.

When I spoke to users last year, many identified two separate camps in the Top Shot community. One group was hardcore NBA fans. The others were speculators. When there was a rush of new Moments, the speculators left, says Doucet. “They were like, okay, more supply’s coming. I know how this works. I’m just gonna sell everything and take off.”

Rewards for holding NFTs April 2021 -> April 2022 1 funny looking cartoon ape $200 -> $598,620 1 officially licensed NBA highlight $200 -> $9.91 woah

— JESSE ( , ) (@YoDough) April 13, 2022

Except there was a problem with getting their money out. As Top Shot saw an unexpected explosion of user growth, withdrawal speeds slowed to a crawl. A month after Schwarz bought the Moment of the LeBron James dunk, withdrawals were taking six to eight weeks. Top Shot doubled its team for processing withdrawals (from four to eight people) while juggling a backlog. Meanwhile, some collectors got frustrated and left, says Steve, a Top Shot user. “I think they ticked off some people because they didn’t get their money fast enough.”

Withdrawals are no longer an issue, Peressini says. “Users can withdraw quite quickly,” she says, calling the service as “an industry standard.” She compared Top Shot’s woes in early 2021 to the early days of Facebook and Myspace, when those websites stalled or timed out regularly as they struggled with scale.

Peressini views Top Shot as a long game. “This is still a maturing market,” she tells me. ”We have a lot of really loyal customers, and they don’t ask us about the price, they ask us, ‘Hey, what are you doing with the product?’”

Mobile apps are in development, and Dapper is also exploring the possibility of letting third-party developers build on top of Top Shot, Peressini says. There may be some new mechanics coming in the future, such as games or challenges where users have to burn their NFTs to participate. That could help with supply problems, which would in turn theoretically lift prices.

Still, Top Shot suffers by comparison to another famous NFT project — one that wasn’t on the radar during the Top Shot craze of early 2021. People who held Bored Apes could use a serum to create Mutant Apes; they also received free ApeCoin that they can use as in-game currency for Benji Bananas — or that they could simply sell. The other thing the Bored Apes changed was the profile photo. Before them, says Doucet, making an NFT your profile picture on social networks such as Twitter wasn’t really a thing. Afterward, it became a marker of identity.

This difference in interaction, visibility, and supply hasn’t gone unnoticed by collectors. “So kind of the core of NFTs and collecting is you’re trusting the company or the creator to keep scarcity. And that’s what makes it appealing, right?” says Schwarz, who compared Top Shot unfavorably to Bored Ape Yacht Club in this respect. BAYC’s approach to building a community is “very calculated and still not outpacing the demand.”

“So right now, the Top Shot market has been going down, while everyone with Bored Apes and other collections are celebrating.”

Levy was more charitable. “They’ve been trying to find the right balance between collecting, gamification, kind of fantasy sports elements, and that mix,” says Levy. “And so they’ve been pulling levers up and down trying to find the right mix.”

But NFTs rely heavily on sentiment — like the fear of missing out — and something as intangible as user frustration can tank prices. “So right now, the Top Shot market has been going down, while everyone with Bored Apes and other collections are celebrating,” Levy says. “And so that further leads to frustrations and people want to sell, which further pushes price down.”

“Some people left Top Shot and bought a bunch of cats and apes and stuff and became millionaires,” Doucet says. “And the people that stuck to Top Shot lost money. There’s no easy way to say that.”

Despite their criticisms, these users are still involved in Top Shot, and do have positive things to say about it.

“I don’t see these prices as a negative at all.”

Levy, for instance, is sympathetic to Dapper and the choices it faces when navigating between its original business plan and its disgruntled community members. “As they’ve experimented, some people have not liked decisions, some people have wanted them to take more responsibility for the prices in the secondary market. And it’s a huge company, so it takes a little time to react.” While he thinks Dapper made some decisions that didn’t look great in hindsight, he doesn’t think they were obviously wrong at the time.

“I don’t think it’s the worst thing in the world that people who were kind of attracted to the free money aspect have moved on to other projects,” Levy told me. “I think Top Shot will do best when they appeal to core NBA fans who value the actual product.”

Top Shot had great engagement in the last year, exceeding the NBA’s expectations, says Adrienne O’Keeffe, who leads consumer products and gaming partnerships at the NBA. “It still is a brand-new space, and was even more so when we launched Top Shot,” she says. “I think we’re all learning this together.”

I heard this kind of optimism from other enthusiasts I talked to. “I don’t see these prices as a negative at all,” says Steve. “I see this as like, well, the next, the next wave of users who are actually interested in basketball, they can get in and they can collect a LeBron James for $5 or $4.” That seems more accessible than having to pony up $200 for a single Moment, he says.

When I spoke with Roham Gharegozlou, Dapper Labs’ CEO, last year, he told me that there were plans for a mobile game that was supposed to roll out in 2021. That didn’t happen. Gharegozlou also told me in 2021 that he viewed Top Shot as a souped-up version of a fan club, which might mean real perks at real games. That part has come closer to reality.

“From our perspective, what we’re trying to do here is drive fan engagement, give our fans a way to display their ownership, show off their ownership and connect with the league,” says the NBA’s O’Keeffe. “Our goal is to create a compelling product that engages our fans, keeps them excited, gives them access, and keeps them coming back, regardless of the secondary value.”

“These are all strangers who I only know through Top Shot.”

Top Shot raffled off tickets to every playoff game this year, as well as to the NBA Draft last year and opening nights. Right now, that’s based on something called a “collector score,” which is based on how active users are on the platform, according to Peressini.

One attempt at creating value has been around “flash challenges” — which reward users for interacting with Top Shot during a specific game night or a weekend, with random requirements for unlocking rewards. Peressini says the goal was to tie the platform more closely to the actual NBA games, making it more rewarding for hardcore fans.

There have been some player meet-and-greets in the Top Shot Discord — but the fan club aspect of Top Shot isn’t confined to the internet. Top Shot has started a “team captain” initiative, where a “team captain” for a group of fans — for instance, the Toronto Raptors — is given a budget of $5,000 to $10,000 to put together local events. “I applied to be a team captain,” Steve told me. He’s excited about that — he already gave away 16 game tickets on his own to other collectors so they could all go together. (Dapper threw in for food and drinks.)

“These are all strangers who I only know through Top Shot,” Steve says. “And everyone who went had nothing but amazing things to say, which made me feel really good because I’m definitely an introvert.”

“I bought a LeBron James Moment for $30 and the rest is history.”

Peressini told me that she’d hosted 15 Golden State Warriors fans at a game, and they got to meet Chris Mullin, who’d played for the team in the 1980s. “These are things you can’t get from upgrading to a suite,” Peressini says. “These are connections that we have with the league. These are perks you can only get through our products.”

Some of the collectors I spoke to wanted to see bigger rewards — so if you hold a specific set of Moments, maybe you get all of that team’s merch, or you get guaranteed tickets to certain games. Schwarz points out that his famously expensive Moment was one of 49 Moments made of that dunk — so maybe all of those 49 people could get to meet a player or something.

Of the current rewards, Doucet told me that things like game tickets might make the community happy but don’t erase the fact that a lot of people lost money. Doucet figures part of the problem is that the business model for sports is different than the business model for NFTs. “It’s been 100 years now [that] professional sports have been around, they’ve never been about a model of like, give something to your consumer and then make sure it holds value for them.” It’s likely to be an interesting few years for Top Shot as they figure out how to do that, he says.

Still, for at least one fan, the more enduring legacy for Top Shot was getting him into full-time NFT trading. When I speak to Libruary — his username — for this story, he’s in Bali. He’d quit his job. He’s thinking of moving to Portugal. He’s dabbled in a lot of projects, he says; he mostly mints NFTs to flip them. And it all started with Top Shot.

“I bought a LeBron James Moment for $30 and the rest is history,” he tells me.

When I spoke to Libruary last year, he’d been a sports card collector who liked that Moments were easier to display and more portable than his physical card collection. He’d even posted about his enthusiasm in a sports card forum in October 2020, where someone replied to his post by posting a GIF of a child tossing money from a window.

Libruary pulls that thread back up when we chat again this year. “I think that person was misguided when they posted that,” he says. “They probably should have looked into it a little harder and done a little bit of research, because that was at a time before NFTs were mainstream or anything. A hundred bucks in Top Shot probably would have got them a few grand.”

He might be right — but timing matters, as he knows. (It’s part of the reason Libruary quit his day job — meetings sometimes collided with the best times to trade.) But this highlights a core problem with NFT projects: if the early users are the ones who get the rewards, why bother coming in late?

https://emake.gr/nba-top-shot-seemed-like-a-slam-dunk-so-why-are-some-collectors-crying-foul/