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hockeyisit · 3 years

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Something Important

Summary: Auston and Amelia get high together.

A.N. Hii I wrote this because I was in the mood and I was high. Sooo sorry if its terrible. Also hope everyone saw the game last night it sounded amazing. I wasn’t able to watch it because I’m not from Canada but I was listening along and wished that I could have seen it live lol! Anyways always avaible to talk and always open for request. Also I plan to write about Auston and his hat trick as soon as I get a minute. I am also still working on part 4 of we lost and that sadly might be a minute before its out.

Master List

Word Count: 2,406

Unedited

“Hey babe,” Auston said, slipping his arm around me and pulling me into a hug. I wrapped my arms around him before leaning back to give him a quick peck with a bright smile.

“Hi, sorry about your game,” I said growing slightly. They had played against the Dallas Stars and lost 3-1. Despite the loss the guys had still decided to go out to the bars and invited the WAGs. I met them there by taking an Uber.

“It’s okay. You look beautiful,” he said his eyes hungrily eying my body. I had decided to wear my favorite lacy black lingerie underneath a denim skirt with a black top. I pulled him into a more hidden spot and guided his hand to the top of my shirt above my bra. I then moved my top slightly so he would be able to see the lingerie.

“So I grabbed something from your apartment before I came here. I hope you don’t mind,” I smiled innocently at him as I pulled the gummy worm edibles I had shoved into my purse out. He laughed as he took a few from my hand and ate them.

“Oh please tell me this is going to lead to high sex,” Auston mumbled against my shoulder once he had leaned in. I giggled as I pushed him away.

“You're terrible,” I joked. He laughed before pulling me in so that our lips were almost pressed together.

“You love it,” he said gently. I blushed dark red before connecting our lips in a filthy kiss.

“Get a room Tony,” Hollsy called as he walked by causing us to pull apart. Mitchy laughed as he pulled Steph along to the bar. She sent me a help look and I pulled Auston along as we followed them to the bar.

“Did you take any edibles?” Auston asked as he crowded me against the bar. I turned my face to him and shook my head no.

“I smoked with Macy. I didn’t want to use your edibles when I can smoke,” I told him knowing he didn't have that many left. He tightened his grip on me as a man crowded into our space.

“Can I get a pink vodka lemonade for her and a bud light for me,” Auston said once he had flagged the bartender down. Once we had our drinks we made our way over to the table the team had selected.

“How are you feeling?” Auston asked in my ear once we sat down at the table. I grinned at him as I climbed into the booth. I had been really excited to come out and spend time with Auston tonight but honestly I couldn't wait for us to head home.

“I’m good,” I grinned at him. “Let me know when that edible hits,” I continued glancing over to Steph.

“Hey what’s up?” she asked as she slid herself into the booth Mitch following closely behind her. I smiled at her feeling more high than anything as I leaned against Auston. The joint I had smoked with Macy was really starting to catch up with me.

“Oh nothing, I hadn't realized it's been so long since I’ve seen you,” I said smiling sadly at her. Truthfully it had been almost two weeks since I had been out with any of the WAGs. I had been so busy with work and classes that I hadn't had any time to go out and have fun. Even seeing Auston had been difficult as off late. I knew that I wanted to stay and catch up with Steph and some of the other girls but really I just wanted some alone time with Auston.

“Amelia it’s been forever since I’ve seen you,” Willy said approaching the table and holding his arms open. I grinned widely as I stood up from the booth to hug him back.

“Oh my god Willy!” I exclaimed as I threw my arms around him.

“I missed you,” I said against his shoulder with a loud laugh. He pulled away laughing and then turned to give Auston a bro hug. I stared off at the dance floor casually sipping my vodka drink as Willy and Auston stood chatting for a bit.

“Can we dance?” I asked tucking myself into Austons side and interrupting the conversation he was having with Willy. He stared at me for a moment before nodding his head.

“I’mma dance with her. I'll talk to you later,” Auston told Willy nodding down at me and then led the way to the dance floor for the two of us. Once we made it to the dance floor Auston moved up close behind me so that I was grinding into him and the two of us danced like that for an hour as we sipped on our drinks.

“I’m starting to feel it,” Auston mumbled against my ear as our bodies moved to the beat. I grinned as I grinded back into him before turning around.

“Babe, I’m still so high from the joint I smoked with Macy,” I said smiling as I pressed a quick kiss to his neck.

“Do you want to head back?” he asked, moving his hands from my waist higher up. I nodded my head with a smile on my face as I turned around to face Auston. He took his hands off me and reached out to grab my hand leading me over to the table.

“Hey, we're heading out,” Auston announced as we got back to the table. We got a few nods in return, so I quickly said goodbye to some of the girls and then we made our way out of the bar.

“Babe,” Auston said, pulling on my arm and coming to a stop.

“What?” I asked, reaching up to run my hand through my messy hair.

“Can you get me a hotdog at that stand?” Auston asked, pointing to a hotdog stand at the end of the block. I let out a giggle as I nodded my head. The two of us made our way to the end of the block and I ordered the hotdog for Auston making sure to get no ketchup and then paid.

“Alright we're going to walk is that okay with you?” I asked Auston noticing just how crossed he was. He nodded his head and the two of us started our way to his apartment. His hand slipped into my back pocket pulling me closer.

“Babe you didn’t put ketchup on it,” he whined as he took his bite.

“You know I don't like ketchup,” I reminded him, taking it out of his hands. He stopped walking and sent a glance my way.

“I didn’t say I wanted to share this,” he said as he pulled it out of my reach.

“Auston,” I whined, turning to face him. He laughed as he took another bite of the hotdog. Ass.

“Auston what?” he asked after he finished chewing.

“Quit being an ass,” I laughed as I lightly hit his arm. He laughed harder as he finally handed me the hotdog.

“Alright let's go it's cold out here,” Auston said, reminding me that it was cold and I wasn't wearing a very warm outfit. I shivered as I tried to walk closer to Auston for body heat. He glanced at me and noticed my shivers and took off his suit coat.

“Here,” he said handing it over and taking the hotdog from me so I could put the coat on.

“You know what Auston,” I said coming to another stop in the middle of the sidewalk. He kept walking for a second before noticing and then turned around to face me.

“Amelia. What are you doing? Remember it's cold out?” he asked, confused as he tried to grab my hand to keep us moving.

“Auston stop, this is important,” I said, not budging from my spot. He turned back to face me again and gave me an encouraging nod.

“What?” he asked, entertaining me.

“I don’t know if I want to tell you anymore,” I said pretending to move forward, only for his hand to stop me.

“No no no. You said it’s important now we have to hear it,” he grinned down at me.

“Well now you're being a jerk so I don’t want to tell you,” I stared up at him. He didn't say anything and just stared at me waiting.

“I’m sorry I really do want to hear what you have to say,” Auston said trying to apologize. I wrapped my arms around his neck and pecked his lips.

“I just love you. And you're a really good boyfriend when you're not being a jerk,” I told him as I pulled back with a wide grin spread across my lips.

“Oh. Thanks babe,” Auston responded surprised. He pecked me on the forehead before pulling me the rest of the way to his apartment building and into the elevator.

“Let’s just go straight to my room and put on a movie,” Auston mumbled as he unlocked his front door. Felix greeted us excitedly, his tail wagging.

“I should probably take him out,” Auston groaned as he reached down for Felix’s leash. I nodded as I took my shoes off and offered him his jacket back. He took it shrugging it on.

“You can go change into something comfier in my room,” he said nodding in the direction of the bedrooms before making his way out.

Once I got to Auston’s room I immediately went to his closet and looked around at all the different things hanging. I glanced between his Maple Leafs jersey and a long sleeve button up trying to figure out which one he would find sexier. Deciding on the jersey I threw it on before making my way over to the bed and sitting on top of the comforter.

“Babe do you want popcorn?” Auston called from the kitchen once he had gotten back.

“Only if you do,” I called back. I heard him shuffling around in the kitchen for a few more moments before he started to make his way down the hall.

“Can we watch the Avengers,” Auston asked as he pushed the door open and walked in with a bag of chips and a plate of strawberries. I nodded as I reached over for the remote and turned on Age of Ultron.

“I brought you strawberries. I remember that one time you told me about how they are better when high. I even cut them up for you,” Auston said shoving the plate my way. I laughed as I took the plate from him.

“Thanks. How was it taking Felix out?” I asked moving the food to the side table and then crawled on top of Auston so that I was straddling him.

“Good. You look so sexy in my jersey babe,” he moaned sliding his hands up my waist feeling the lacy lingerie under the jersey.

“Can’t believe you wore this to the bar tonight,” he muttered, hiking the jersey up so that he could take in more of the lingerie.

“I couldn't stop thinking about you all night,” he leaned up and placed a kiss on my lips before pulling away and flipping us over so that he was on top. He pulled the jersey up higher so that he was able to take in my whole body. He leaned down and started placing light kisses on my belly and moved up towards my breast.

“What do you want from me tonight?” Auston asked, pulling the jersey off and then leaning back down so that he could start sucking a hickey into my breast. I moaned loudly as I pushed into him.

“Tonights all about you babe,” I said, pulling his face up with both of my hands so that he was looking into my eyes. He stared at me hungirly before pulling me into a deep kiss and letting his hands rome my body. I moved my hand that was playing with the end of his hair down his body so that my hand was resting just above his waistband. Just as I was about to tug his pants off there was a loud knocking on the door. I threw my head back with a loud groan.

“Did you invite someone over?” I asked. He shook his head no leaning back.

“Maybe if we ignore it they will go away,” he suggested leaning back in to kiss me again only for the knocking to continue. This time Felix started barking back. Auston groaned as he climbed off the bed and made his way out of the room. I laid down into the bed relaxing as I waited for Auston to come back. I waited for another five minutes before deciding to throw something on to go check on him. Once I was dressed in his sweats and a sweatshirt. I followed the conversation coming from the kitchen.

“Freddie,” I smiled as I approached the two standing at the counter. I walked over to Auston and he quickly wrapped his arm around my shoulder pulling me into his side.

“Sorry it's so late,” Freddie apologized to me. I gave him a polite smile and shook my head.

“Don’t worry. Is everything okay?” I asked.

“Freddie here just needs some friends to hang out with tonight,” Auston squeezed my shoulder giving me a soft smile.

“Well Auston and I were watching Age of Ultron. I could put it on the tv out here,” I suggested. Freddie gave me a grateful smile while Auston nodded along.

“Freddie we’re just going to turn the tv off in the room and grab the snacks,” Auston said and then the two of us made our way towards the bedroom.

“I’m sorry that I invited him to stay, he’s been feeling really homesick and the media has been so brutal on him lately,” Auston started saying the second the door was shut. I leaned forward and placed a kiss on his lips cutting him off. I loved how much Auston cared about the people he loved.

“Don’t worry about it Aus. Freddie is always welcome here,” I smiled at him pressing another quick kiss to his lips.

“Now go turn the movie on I just want to take my lingerie off,” I said, nudging him out of the room. He laughed pressing another quick kiss to my cheek and leaving the room.

#auston matthews #auston matthews fanfic #auston matthews imagine #Auston Matthews imagines #Auston Matthews x reader #auston matthews fic #toronto maple leafs imagine #toronto maple leafs fanfic #toronto maple leafs fic #nhl fic #nhl imagine #nhl writing #nhl x reader #Hockey Fanfiction #hockey imagine

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preciousthingsareprecious · 3 years

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Finding Us chapter 23

At last I have managed to sort out this latest chapter, and I am now presenting it to you fine readers! I hope you guys enjoy it! This one's featuring Jason and a round table "Ah ha!" kind of moment.

AO3 Link

“Are you planning to stay there all day?” Bruce asked, as Jason dropped a sky blue pencil and replaced it with a green one.

Jason looked up from his place on the training mats and grinned at his dad, “Yep.” he answered, popping the ‘P’, “I did ask you if you wanted to join, and you said you were busy.”

Currently, he was laying across the training mats on his stomach. His new coloring book thanks to Cass and Tim was splayed out in front of him. He’d filled in random parts of a page as he picked and chose colors in a dance of chaos he was sure would have Damian’s hair on end if the kid had been watching him.

He was doing his best not to get kicked out. But from Bruce’s tone, and almost constant swivel between Jason and the computer’s loading screen Jason figured his luck was running thin. So far though, Jason had been immune to Bruce’s ability to shoo every other one of his children out of the cave.

They had a truce and a tiny part of Jason’s mind was interested in seeing how far he could push his dad’s patience. Another part of him --the part that had brought him downstairs in the first place-- just wanted to make sure Bruce wasn’t pushing himself too hard. There was really no reason for B to have planted himself in front of the computer other than because he was punishing himself. For missing the signs Tim was being stalked, for just not keeping a close enough eye on his sons, or for a hundred other things Jason could think of.

“You are still welcome to color in a picture of a teddy bear, or a swear word that has all the important letters turned into symbols, which really? Is a waste of a perfectly good swear word.”

Bruce snorted. Jason counted that as a win.

Jason shifted a bit, and pushed himself a little higher on his elbows watching Bruce, “You know, sitting there won’t change the wait time the computer gave you.”

“I’m working.”

“On what?”

Bruce grunted and shrugged his shoulders at the computer. The message was clear: Stuff. Things. Batman related work.

Jason rolled his eyes and threw his green colored pencil at his dad. It clattered to the ground about halfway between them. He hadn’t expected it to land, and really didn’t know why he’d thrown it in the first place.

“Jason.” Bruce’s tone was long-suffering. A father pushed almost to his limit.

“ Dad .” Jason said, pushing a little further.

This, at last, got Bruce to look over at him. Jason wasn’t sure he’d ever get used to the way Bruce looked at him when he called him Dad now. When he’d been a kid Bruce would look warm, happy, kind of like Jason felt whenever Damian or Tim decided to lean on him.

Now, he looked a bit like a deer caught in headlights. Like he still couldn’t believe he’d heard that word from Jason. Like he’d just found his son again. And honestly? Jason didn’t blame him for the surprise. He hadn’t been sure they’d ever get here either. But after their talk in the study Jason was trying it out more and more. And it felt good. Right. Like home.

The surprise faded after a moment as Bruce’s face softened, letting in that breath of warmth he’d used to have.

“Join me, and let the computer do its job. No one will blame you for moving a few feet away for half an hour. No one blames you for missing what Timbo was so obviously trying to hide.”

“I am not going to lay on the floor.”

Jason grinned, “I’d be happy to move to a table.”

He shifted the coloring supplies to one of the work tables, his elbows and knees grateful for the reprieve from laying on the floor. Jason shoved the fallen green pencil in Bruce’s hand and left his dad to start working on a page of his choice while he made some tea on the cave’s little stove. No need to call Alfred down for something they had all the supplies for down here.

Bruce’s shoulders had just started to relax when the computer beeped indicating it was done running whatever program Bruce had set it to work on. The next instant, B was up from the table, pencil clattering onto the forgotten book and striding over to the computer.

Jason was a few steps behind him, his stomach churning. On the screen, Bruce had pulled up an image of a man who looked remarkably like Damian’s sketch. The kid was really good. As Jason took in the man’s face, his fists curled. The stalker or not, this guy was at the very least in cahoots with the person bothering Tim, and for that Jason wanted to take him down a peg or two.

“Get the others.” Bruce said, “I’m pulling up known associates now.”

Bruce didn’t have to tell Jason twice. He spun on his heel and made his way back up to the manor. He caught Dick hovering by the entrance and sent him down straight away. Then found Cass and Steph with Alfred playing cards. It took him longer to find Tim and Damian. He’d assumed both would be brooding in their rooms and came up short when he didn’t find either of them there.

Tim’s laptop was gone from his room, and so Jason assumed the kid would have probably moved to work on it somewhere else in the house. He went for the library first and cheered internally at his good luck. Both boys were together.

“Hey Short Stacks, we figured out who Dames met earlier. B wants everyone downstairs.”

Both boys looked at each other and then back at Jason, nodding.

“Excellent. It seems everything is beginning to coalesce.” Damian said, standing.

Tim looked at his laptop for a long moment, as if trying to decide if he wanted to take it or leave it. He settled on leaving it, and soon followed Damian around the desk.

“Did he say who it was?” he asked.

Jason herded them out the door, “I didn’t memorize the guy’s name. Besides, B had already moved on to looking up his partners. Hopefully you’ll spot someone you know.”

He paused and added, “Not that I’m hoping it’s a friend of yours or anything--you know what I mean.”

His brother waved off his concern, “I get it. We’ll find him a lot faster if I can give one of the associates an I.D.”

When the three of them made it down to the cave, they walked into a room full of chatter. Someone had dragged a few chairs over to rest by the computer. Alfred was planted in one, with Steph in another. Cass was perched on the desk by the computer, and Dick was leaned against Bruce’s chair. The big man himself hadn’t seemed to have moved from where Jason had left him.

Tim crowded up next to Dick, with Jason following close behind. He noted that Damian was hanging back just a bit. Probably because he’d already seen the guy in the flesh.

“Alright, we’re all here. Spill the beans, B-man.” Jason said.

Bruce grunted, but then after a moment he began to speak, “The man Damian met is named Mark Sherman. He’s got a criminal record, mostly for low level stuff, no stalking or kidnapping on his sheet though.”

After a few clicks the man's image was back up on the computer for everyone to see. Below his name, Jason could read his basic criminal history, and some general information about him like his age and height. He didn't seem like the worst that could come out of Gotham. Definitely someone who would hand over a creepy letter for enough money though.

“That is the man I saw.” Damian confirmed, with a sharp nod.

Bruce clicked something else on the computer. “Here’s the list of his known associates. I’ve narrowed it down to the most likely suspects. Tim, or any of you, let me know if they seem familiar.”

Jason watched carefully as six men and women’s images showed up on the screen. After less than a minute Dick, Tim, and Stephanie all three pointed at one of the men on the screen.

“Harry Ferst.” Dick said.

“But wait, he currently works for Wayne Enterprises.” Stephanie said, finger shifting down to aim at the information listed under his name, “What’s he got against Tim?”

All eyes turned to their second youngest.

“It might not be him?” Tim shrugged, “He could be another guy working with--” he sighed, “It’s probably him, but I can’t remember why he’d be so mad at me he’d stalk and threaten me.”

“Think harder, then.” Damian snapped, “You must have done something to incur his wrath.”

“Like I did something to incur yours when you arrived?” Tim shot back.

Jason expected Damian to return another volley, instead his mouth shut and he crossed his arms. He turned to glare at the computer screen.

“What does the man’s reason even matter? He is worth checking out at the very least. If he is not Drake’s stalker then he may be another lead.”

Tim snapped his fingers, “That’s it! He was up for promotion, back when Bruce was lost in the timestream. Except I was taking over certain things back then and more than one application was denied in all the restructuring. If he feels like his work doesn’t matter, and sees it as my fault--”

“That could be the source of his anger.” Jason nodded, “Especially if he was banking on that promotion or if he’s been passed up even more times after that.”

It made sense, Bruce had been the source of the same type of anger often enough, Lucius Fox too, and really anyone with any high ranking at the company. Tim mixing things up while Bruce had been gone was totally enough to put a target on him, one that would flare up into blame if something else incited Harry’s anger.

Bruce nodded, “I agree.”

Jason blinked, having almost forgotten the man was there. Bruce had let them sort it out together, which was nice. And looking at him now, Jason knew the man had already figured out the same things they had, but he was proud all the same. That stupid quirk of his mouth proved just that.

“So, who gets to go after him?” Jason asked.

“I--” Tim spoke up only to be interrupted by Bruce.

“You are staying home.”

Tim glowered at him and crossed his arms, “I’d like to go after the guy who’s been stalking me.”

“And we’d like you to stay safe.” Dick pointed out.

“I’ll be Red Robin!” Tim argued, “He’s not going to see me and go ‘Oh look Tim Drake my arch nemesis who’s also apparently a super hero!”

Jason snorted and crossed his arms, “I think we all want a piece of the guy who's been stalking one of our own. Unfortunately, he’s not exactly the type that really needs the whole family to take him down. I think our energies are best spread out.”

“Jason’s right.” Bruce said.

“Oh?” Jason perked up, “Are the cameras recording this because a miracle has occurred!”

Bruce ignored him and continued, “Dick and I are going to take care of Ferst. Jason you’ll be back up in case we need you, but until then I want you back on reconnecting with your Alkali contacts. Girls, I’d like you patrolling close in the area. Damian--”

“I will stay behind.” Damian said.

Jason dropped his arms, “What?”

There had to be some trick to it. Damian didn’t just stay behind. Ever.

The kid rolled his eyes, “You wish someone to keep an eye on Drake correct? He will stay because he does not wish to face Father’s wrath if I am caught sneaking out and I will stay because I do not wish the same if he is.”

The room was staring at Damian now.

“What?” he glared, “I am not an idiot. I know the way this family works, and I know my own tendencies. It was the obvious decision.”

Jason laughed, “Kid’s got a point.”

“Fine.” Tim declared, “You all win. Damian and I will stay here and be useless .”

“You’re not going to be useless,” Bruce said, sounding tired, “Barbara told me you’d been working on decrypting Alkali files. I want you to keep working on that.”

“You have been spearheading that part of the project.” Dick pointed out, “It’d be a shame if someone else figured it out before you did.”

Tim and Damian looked at each other. It was a brief glance, one that neither seemed to realize they’d even done. Jason frowned, cataloging it with their weird reluctance from earlier. Something felt off about it, but he couldn't quite place what it was.

Then Tim was shrugging, “You all will let me know the moment you’ve got the guy right?”

“Of course.” Dick nodded.

“Right then.” Tim said, “Let’s all get to it.”

#finding us #jason todd #chapter 23 #precious posts #this chapter feels a little short #but it's a good bridge chapter #and hey at least it's not two pages like the chapters in a book I read reccently #fanfiction

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roswelldetails · 4 years

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RNM 2x06 - Sex and Candy

EPISODE SUMMARY:

Maria’s (Heather Hemmens) investigation into her mother’s disappearance leads her and Alex (Tyler Blackburn) to the home of a mysterious boot maker named Travis (guest star David Anders). Meanwhile, on her journey of self-discovery, Isobel’s (Lily Cowles) night out leads her into the arms of someone unexpected. Finally, after making some major scientific strides, Liz (Jeanine Mason) is dealt a devastating blow. Geoff Shotz directed the episode written by Rick Montano & Vincent Ingrao (#206). Original airdate 4/20/2020.

DETAILS:

Max and Isobel's fight:

Lights start flickering when Max starts getting aggressive and then get brighter as he gets more worked up.

The first attempt to expel it seemed like he was causing an earthquake. He blew out all the windows in the gym, knocked Isobel down, and there was shaking. But it didn't seem to go beyond that room - no damage is seen when Michael arrives or around town.

Note, after the earthquake thingie the lights go out

His hands are doing the electric power thingie and THEN he also grabs the lightning.

I think Isobel used her telekinesis to stop it and then push it away, which seemed to work...but if so then why couldn't Noah do that last season?

Was it the sheer volume of electricity? There was definitely MORE than with Noah.

Michael uses his telekinesis to manually reset Max's heart. This is very smart of him. Note that he's using his own heart/pulse to get it right.

They are using the antidote to Liz's serum to try to heal Max's mind.

Michael says that they've been giving him antidote injections for three days (time jump).

Three days of antidote and no new memories for Max.

Isobel remembered her blackouts within a few hours of getting injected with the antidote in 1x10.

Note: Liz hesitated using the antidote this way in 1x10 because Isobel could still be dangerous and they didn't know about the 4th Alien yet. There doesn't seem to be a similar hesitation with Max. Because Liz trusts him more? Because him forgetting her is more personal? It's not like there isn't a chance that Max is still dangerous…

Maria arranged a Mexican market in the Pony parking lot to subsidize her income.

Buffy the Beagle is Forrest's dog!

Maria comments that the meteor shower makes animals act strange. And humans too.

Forrest and Maria are organizing an open night mic at the Wild Pony. Free drinks for performers.

Maria clearly approves of Forrest and Alex getting to know each other. She smacks Alex for his awkward flirting.

The bootmaker's farm is about an hour outside of town.

The Science:

Kyle and Steph are watching a "surgical separation of craniopagus twins".

Craniopagus Twins = twins attached at the cranium/head. (Aka not a heart surgery).

"Did you know, ever since 1947, twin births in Roswell are higher than the national average? Maybe it's aliens."

Speaking of awkward flirting…. "You're just my favorite person I can't stand."

The Spanish:

Le cambio una bolsa de chiles para mi papá...for the free fries next time you come to the Crashdown.

Liz is bartering. She says basically, I'll trade you a bag of chiles for my papa for free fries next time you come to the Crashdown.

Note, the captions for this are wrong and use the Spanish word for grasshoppers instead, but you can clearly hear Liz say chiles. Thanks to @rosaortecho for pointing that out to me.

Max says:

I'm trying to eat clean. Uh, tiene carne seca sin como se dice, preservativos.

He's trying to say, basically, does the jerky have preservatives.

Quiere carne a sin preservativos?

Basically, you want meat without condoms?

Lo siento. Uh, no lo entiendo.

I'm sorry, I don't get it.

Él quiere decir conservantes.

He means preservatives.

Gracias. Estoy embarazado.

Thank you. I'm pregnant.

Michael asks Max who he's texting. Max says everyone has been messaging him but Cameron is the only one who hasn't responded, which isn't like her.

Wildly curious who he was texting though. It's not like he's a social butterfly. His mom? The sheriff? Who? As I pointed out to some friends the other day, he spent his 21st birthday getting trashed with his SISTER. This is not a trait of a guy with lots of close friends.

Just as another note, Michael says he ghosted her. When exactly was that? Yes, Max ran out on her in the middle of a handy in 1x03, but they addressed that the next day. She "broke up" with him in 1x07, but they were still good right up until she left town.

Isobel:

"Does he seem different to you?"

Alex and Maria playing "Never have I Ever" in the car. Good way to do background on characters.

Maria has never cheated on a boyfriend

Alex has never been in a real relationship. Not even "Kellie Sommer-something".

Alex says that whenever he was with a woman he was trying to disappear. Except for Sophomore year after Battle of the Bands. Seven Minutes in Heaven in Haley Moore's hall closet. Alex and Maria kissed and it was Maria's first kiss (and boob graze). She always thought she'd marry Alex. Had to come up with a new plan after he came out.

Alex says "I did too."

"Kissing you in that closet was the first time in my life that I enjoyed touching someone."

Max picks up Liz for their first date…

Just as a note, Save Tonight was the opening song in the pilot of OG Roswell. During the "oh, Max Evans is staring at you again." exchange between Liz and Maria. So, it might go well with new beginnings or something ;-)

The Science:

"Psychogenic amnesia limits retrieval of stored memories, but if we light up your limbic system and gustatory cortex with some familiar signals…"

"Your milkshake might bring all my memories to the yard?"

**Note, second reference to this song in the context of Liz bringing Max milkshakes. First was in 1x06 by Isobel. Hmm. 1x06 and 2x06… maybe they should crack this joke in 3x06 too.

"Sometimes when people wake up from comas they have different personalities, different tastes even…"

Everything you ever wanted to know about psychogenic amnesia:

But, my main takeaway is that it's a specific type of amnesia where there's abnormal memory function but no brain damage or other clear cause of it.

Limbic system:

Basically the part of your brain that stores emotion, behavior, and long term memory.

Gustatory cortex:

Basically the part of your brain that processes taste.

Maria compares Michael to Chad because he starts fights and lies. Alex disagrees and lists ways that he was doing good things:

He lied to protect his family from Alex's family.

He shouldered the burden of a murder he didn't commit for ten years so that Isobel didn't have to.

He pushed Maria away to protect her - which might be a good thing too because of all his baggage.

First Date:

Max went to Ranch camp one summer and dislocated his shoulder while trying to read Lord of the Rings on horseback. #nerd.

Liz references the gala as not their first date, but there was also the desert in high school. I guess she doesn't count that either.

Side note: Cam and Liz talked about him peacocking in 2x03, but that kinda felt out of character at the time to the Max we knew. This Max DOES seem like he's peacocking a bit. Got dressed up, taking Liz horseback riding. He admitted to trying to one up whatever they did together before. Just an interesting (to me) observation.

Liz looks panicky when Max suggests truth serum (because Science!Liz probably could make truth serum), but once she realizes he means whiskey she's like, "oh yes, that's fine." Oh Liz…

Diego details:

They were engaged just last year

Liz left without saying goodbye

Bioengineer

They were working together on the Denver study

They would come home and keep talking about work

He had ideas to help improve it

They both spoke The Science

He pushed her to get better at The Science

When the funding was cut she realized she loved the work more than him

Liz couldn't figure out how tell him that so she packed her things in the middle of the night, hit the road, changed her phone, and blocked him on Facebook.

**This is the first time LIZ has mentioned social media. Interesting given the crap Maria keeps giving her about it!

Travis and fresh warm milk. What is up with it??

"Nice ring. Does it keep you from burning up in the daylight?"

David Anders introduces himself as Travis.

Just as a point of interest, Maria researched enough to find the bootmaker, figure out where he lives, but she didn't get his name???

Vampire Diaries/Originals reference.

Travis says he can't help with car stuff.

The milk was from a cow named Jennifer. He milked her for the last time today. (Creepy).

Weird contradictory statements from Travis:

"You're the best thing I've seen in a long time."....

"Mm, I'm sorry. So many customers and all their ugly faces get all sewn up and stitched together in my mind."

"Yeah, that's the woman that bought them boots. While back. Nice lady. She paid cash."

Second reference to animals behaving strangely during a meteor shower:

"Meteor shower's got my girls singing a bit off key tonight. Jennifer, she likes a good lullaby."

"Okay this guy is going to turn us into skin suits." (OG reference? Or just general sci-fi?)

Meteorchella at Planet 7 (Coachella-style party during meteor shower?) with any excuse to add sparkles!

Kyle says he's at Planet 7 because he's trying not to hang out with people from high school.

Isobel says she's trying to have fun without feeling like prey.

Don't think the details of Kyle/Isobel dancing matters all that much, but as a point of amusement I'll share that in the panel on Tuesday night they shared that Lily whispered something different to Trevino on every take...And they got progressively dirtier to the point that she finally felt like she crossed a line and profusely apologized. Also the lick was a Lily addition.

Max's confession about killing the drifter:

Kind of an interesting thing, comparing the first version of the drifter story in 1x06 to the 2x06 version. 1x06 was more dramatic, but 2x06 was more personal, I think.

1x06

"There are moments that define our lives, and there are moments that divide our lives. Incidents that separate us into two different people: who we were before and who we will be after. Forever…One day we were children and the next we were something else. I was a killer. Michael an accomplice. And Isobel...Isobel was broken."

2x06

"I killed a man once, on a camping trip. This drifter came out of nowhere, attacked Isobel. I wasn't even thinking. I killed him. With this. I arrest people who kill people. Most of them usually regret what they did. You know, you can just tell that they're forever broken. It's like a piece of them dies with their victims. So when I could feel that darkness, like I had to kill, I wanted Isobel to let me die. Because I couldn't risk hurting even one innocent person. Cause life just wouldn't be worth living."

Kind of an interesting narrative choice to confess to murder on a first date and then have the girl just brush it aside.

"No, it just hit me why you're so happy and idealistic, and I feel like an idiot. You are that way because you don't remember me. It's a clean slate. It's like when you got out of the pods with whatever memories you had erased it's probably for your own good."

"Last I heard you were the love of my life."

"Your cohorts, they left out some details. Cause if you had your memories I'm positive the worst thing that's ever happened to you is connected to me. And I can't bear the weight of making you remember that again."

**Note, second time this has been implied. Last time was by Michael in 1x08 regarding the alien symbol.

"...it's gotta have some connection to us right? Maybe it was something we saw somewhere before the crash."

"Sorry, are you, Max Evans, acknowledging that we must have had lives before we hatched out of the pods? You never want to talk about home."

"Hey, Roswell is home. Look, I'm sorry man. You're right. I've spent a lot of time not talking about where we come from or why we're here. Keep thinking I can pretend the past away and just be normal. But if Isobel's blackouts are some alien thing, then I need to know more. Okay, and this symbol? That's all I have to go on. I mean don't you think it's strange that we don't have any memories? I mean, no parents, no language. We weren't infants, man. We were seven."

"I just figured our memory faded. Over 50 years in those pods. Maybe it was just time. Or maybe whoever put us in those pods doesn't want us to remember."

Travis and Trevor's house...with added bonus of his ring that Alex comments on.

Leather ribbons/strips on the wall are for (from?) Hayley and Gertrude. More cows, I presume.

There's also a framed Purple Heart on the wall next to a photo of Travis?

"War really messes with a man's mind. Gets it all twisted up.

Timeline issue!! Alex says Mimi was missing for 3 weeks, but according to the clearly established timelines in 201-203 it was 4 weeks (or a month ish). I wrote about this here:

Maria put her jacket on a scarecrow to trick Travis. And did she leave it there?

(Answer: yes. She doesn't wear it for the rest of the episode. Smart of her, actually).

Michael sees Trevor come out of the house and is about to shoot him. Maria immediate knew it wasn't Travis and threw herself in front of Michael's gun

Trevor shoots Travis.

A bullet from the Crashdown shooting falls out of Max's journal. Does it look like it has blood on it? Or maybe just ketchup? If it's THE bullet it would make a lot of sense that he kept it hidden - evidence that Liz was shot. See this comparison between one of Wyatt's bullets in 1x02 and the one Max finds in 2x06

"Sorry about my twin here. He's had a rough go."

"Combat does not make you an axe murderer."

"No, it wasn't the combat. It was the R&D. If a paramilitary group ever asks you to take part in a study, you run the other way. He showed up a few weeks ago. Locked me up out back. Lucky y'all showed up when you did. Gave me a chance to escape."

R&D is a military acronym for Research and Development. (Aka...The Science.)

Priscilla - the cow Mimi's boots were made from.

This is literally the only direct information gained about the boots from this little sleuthing excursion.

Well, and that Mimi paid cash, which isn't like her.

Side note - I didn't really know what Paramilitary meant, so just in case any of you are also not good with military stuff, Paramilitary groups are like private armies. Like, I dunno, the private security firm that Jesse and Cam discussed in episode 2x04. 👀

Male doctor operating on Steph clearly states:

"All right we're approaching an arterial junction."

A female doctor replies and its less clear. What I hear is...Blood gasses are back? Anyone else hear something that makes more sense than that?

He replied something like...the stint through here

She says something about pH levels.

Max admits that he didn't know what would happen when he decided to bring Rosa back. He just wanted to fix the worst thing that ever happened to all of them.

"I can't believe we were Shyamalan'd by an evil twin."

I think Alex is referring to the twist ending? Or maybe just the insane axe murderer stuff.

M. Night Shyamalan wrote and directed the Sixth Sense, Signs, Split, etc…

During this scene is the first time we see Michael's tattoo… it's on his arm. I struggled with getting a cap of it, but I know there are gifs going around.

I had every intention of detailing the dialogue in the trailer scene, but before I could get to it, Carina posted the script, so I didn't think it was a good use of my time. Here's the script:

The next morning, Alex calls the Sheriff from outside the trailer for an update.

The Sheriff tells him that Travis and Trevor burned their home and ran...weren't caught by the sheriff. Which means we may not have seen the last of them.

The Spanish:

"Oh my God. Dios mio, Max. I took off your pants before I even said I love you. I'm some kind of zorra."

Dios mio basically is Oh My God! So Liz really was spiraling. She went, "Oh my God, Oh my God..."

Zorra - female version of Zorro. Basically a vixen, bitch, prostitute… the internet has all sorts of fun words that it translates into.

"I call this one Visceral Werewolf Part 2, dedicated to my boy Chee Chee, may he rest in peace."

Can we have more Bert? Bert is the best. Also kudos to his goofy friend who is wayyy too excited about this.

Forrest's slam poem:

Locked up for days,

Time slipping away,

On my knees I would pray to break free from this cage.

But bargaining for keys, you forget hidden fees.

And wishing for what you’re missing ain’t the same as living the dream.

And now I’m fighting to stay on this side of the cage.

Even though I know a part of me wishes I’d stayed.

Ain’t no prophet or rebel or savior or devil

Could have predicted, fought, cheated or leveled.

A life with potential that’s squandered,

A comfortable cell is a question I ponder.

Am I a free man or a prisoner wanderer?

Max's memory flash:

Young Max, chained to the ground as described in 2x03.

Max looks scared.

He's dressed all in white like the 1947 aliens after the crash (As shown in 1x12 and 2x03).

He's in a cave or something like a cave.

Holes in the wall are glowing an orangey red color.

The ceiling is like the alien ship material with the alien symbol in it.

A figure approaches from behind him, bends down, and places a hand on his shoulder.

It mirrors the figure approaching Nora in 2x03 and touching her shoulder before burning the military men...probably the same person? Noah? The stowaway? Someone new?

After the figure touches Max, he looks at the hand, and then a red glow lights his face.

MUSIC:

1. Xocoyotzin Herrera "Esperanza"

2. Jose Luis Lepe "La Carreta"

3. Eagle Eye Cherry "Save Tonight"

4. Lousiana Red "I Done Woke Up"

5. Whissell "Magnetic"

6. Stop Dead "Alchemistress Dance"

7. Orville Peck "Turn To Hate"

8. Kim Petras "Close Your Eyes"

9. Orville Peck "Queen Of The Rodeo"

10. Moontricks "The Fall"

11. Years & Years "Hypnotised"

12. Jordan Critz Feat. Birdtalker "Through Your Eyes"

This time I couldn't find the Whissell and Stop Dead tracks on spotify - however the Stop Dead track is referenced at being by Chelsea Dawn in the closed captions. Which I did find. Trying to confirm this. Let me know if anyone else had better luck!

#roswell new mexico #rnm season 2 #rnm spoilers #rnm 206 #sex and candy #episode details #long post

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junker-town · 4 years

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7 players who can win the ‘NBA 2K’ players-only tournament

Here’s our pick for the winner of the players-only NBA 2K tournament.

Basketball is coming back — in video game form, at least. In lieu of the NBA season being put on indefinite hiatus over the coronavirus pandemic, 16 players across the league are set to compete in an NBA 2K20 tournament. The event will be aired on ESPN and streamed on Twitch, Twitter, and Facebook. It runs from April 3-11, with the winner getting to donate $100K to charity for virus relief efforts.

Kevin Durant, Trae Young, Donovan Mitchell, and Devin Booker are the biggest names in the field. The players get their choice of teams, but it’s hard to imagine anyone going with a team that doesn’t currently employ them. It’s a single-elimination tournament. Yes, you can gamble on this: there are already detailed odds on who’s going to win.

Here’s what the bracket looks like:

Some of those bets are better than others. After exhaustive research, SB Nation has identified seven players who have a real shot at winning the whole dang thing. Let’s get it.

7. Zach LaVine, Chicago Bulls

LaVine has the second-worst odds to win the tournament, but he sure seems like a serious gamer. He was playing video games when he heard about the NBA season being suspended. He was also once put in a motion capture suit for the 2K series to get his exact moves in the game.

youtube

As someone who has played many games of 2K with the Bulls, I can tell you LaVine’s video game character is pretty great. He’s super fast, can drain threes, and dunks everything. Defense matters a lot more in real life than it does in video games. He also won’t be dragged down by his head coach like he is at his day job. Does virtual Jim Boylen call senseless timeouts, too?

The only issue is the Bulls are one of the worst-rated teams in the game. LaVine is going to have to score almost all of the points with his own guy if he’s going to win. It’s like he’s back at work again.

6. Hassan Whiteside, Portland Trail Blazers

In researching this story, I checked the social media channels of every participating player to see if they were practicing. Whiteside was the only guy posting about getting work in on his Instagram stories. Seems like a good sign.

2K somehow has Whiteside’s character rated as an 87 overall — which is as high as Mitchell and a point better than Booker. What? I guess telling reporters you’re trying to get your 2K rating up has its perks.

youtube

While Whiteside’s avatar might have a high rating, he’s more a defense-first player and not exactly someone you can run an offense through. Will Whiteside try to score all the points with his own guy rather than let Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum cook? That’s what worries us.

5. Trae Young, Atlanta Hawks

Ice Trae is the second highest-rated player competing in the tournament at 90 overall. This is a portrait of a hardcore gamer:

Y’all don’t want this smoke.... I’m on now pic.twitter.com/KMKDOVwwL3

— Trae Young (@TheTraeYoung) March 14, 2020

Young also did the motion capture thing for 2K, and told The Undefeated one of his dreams is to be on the cover of the game. That’s dedication.

Young’s video game character is deadly from three-point range, but it can also be hard to score with him consistently going to the basket. That makes for a high degree of difficulty when playing. The Hawks are also terrible in the game, so he won’t have much help. He’d rank higher on this list if he was running with a better team.

4. Deandre Ayton, Phoenix Suns

Ayton has the second-best odds to win the tournament, and for good reason. A profile from Ayton’s college days in 2018 spelled out his love for video games and particularly 2K:

“It’s a ritual. I have to do it,” Ayton said. “Every little opportunity I have. As soon as I wake up, Fortnite or 2K. Breakfast? After film? I’m playing it. I’m playing it.”

That sounds encouraging, but here’s where I start to question his gaming ability: Ayton admitted he played with the Durant-Warriors, AKA the best video game team ever assembled, and also that he turned off fatigue!

When Ayton plays 2K, he chooses the Golden State Warriors, which obviously makes the game a little easier. Then he turns off the “fatigue” setting, meaning his virtual Kevin Durant, Steph Curry and Klay Thompson never get tired.

To a 2K purist, those choices might appear far too easy. Unfair even.

But maybe Ayton just wants to wipe everyone out, every time.

“Yes, I play with the Warriors. I don’t care,” Ayton said after lighting up the Pac-12 tournament semifinals with 34 points and 14 rebounds against UCLA last Friday, generating laughter among a small group of reporters. “And fatigue is off, so nobody can stop me.

“I don’t care. I make big shots.”

Are Ayton and Booker both allowed to be the Suns here? Is Ayton going to try to take LeBron James and the Lakers if not? How will he respond if fatigue is on and he’s forced to make subs? These are the questions that need to be asked before placing a wager on Ayton.

3. Devin Booker, Phoenix Suns

The odds-on favorite to win the tournament at +350. No one else’s odds are particularly close.

Booker has quite the resume as a gamer. He has competed competitively before. Fans watch him play video games on Twitch and he has already raised $100K for pandemic relief through his streaming. He was playing video games when he found out the season was canceled. His first-round opponent, Michael Porter Jr, acknowledged that Booker is “hardcore” about gaming.

Here’s the problem, though: most of the stories about Booker’s gaming ability focuses on either Call of Duty or Apex Legends. I have no doubt this man knows his way around a set of joysticks, but talent in shooting games doesn’t necessarily translate to talent in 2K.

There’s also the issue of Booker’s character being underrated by the game and him not having a great roster to work with as the Suns. No one will be surprised if he wins the tournament, but he doesn’t feel like a lock to do it.

2. Kevin Durant, Brooklyn Nets

Some positives for Durant: at 96 overall, he has the highest-rated player of anyone competing in the game. He’s also had a lot of free time to play video games as he recovers from an Achilles injury.

Cons: He hasn’t seemed to figure out transition defense.

The transition defense on 2k is the most frustrating thing in my life at this moment

— Kevin Durant (@KDTrey5) February 22, 2020

Much like real life, Durant is so good that any team who has him will have a chance to win it all. He also has a great co-star on his virtual Nets with Kyrie Irving. He’s a threat to go all the way, as long as he can figure out how to stop a fastbreak.

1. Michael Porter Jr., Denver Nuggets

How serious is Porter about 2K? He once took the literal shoes off a man’s feet by beating him in the game.

Who in Denver wanna play 2k for the

— Michael Porter Jr (@MPJr) August 1, 2018

Here’s a quick recap: After posting a tweet looking for challengers, a man said he’d be willing to put up his $800 pair of Jordans in a game, and Porter invited him over to his apartment. Porter couldn’t even wear the shoes — because they were too small for him and because he had signed an endorsement with Puma — but he still took them from the guy.

Our own Denver Stiffs talked to the man and he sounded like he was a serious gamer: “I’m really, really really good at 2K, enough to have maybe lost five times all year so I was extremely confident going in.”

Porter still beat him, then he mocked him on Twitter for the world to see:

Victim #2 lol @RoyalBeatBoxer and look what I won... can’t wear em tho cuz I’m puma gang so I might do a give away pic.twitter.com/VZ4VzKzbge

— Michael Porter Jr (@MPJr) August 1, 2018

Straight savage. Here’s a prediction: whoever wins the first round matchup between Porter and Booker is going to win the tournament. We’ll go with Porter.

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nhlhoser · 7 years

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On The Rocks - 6

Part 5 - Master List

"Wake up" poke.

"Come on" poke.

"Seriously" Harder poke.

"Amelia" A voice coos and before they can poke me again I grab the offending finger about to jab my side again.

"I swear to a higher power! If you poke me again I will end you" Without opening my eyes. Settling back into the pillows hoping to find the same comfortable position I was in before but I couldn't find it. Groaning I cover my eyes before opening them and closing them again. My head pounding rivaling this morning's hangover.

"I wish I could hate you guys" I mumbled into the pillows aware of a body weight to my left in the bed. I'm guessing it's William because it was his voice that I heard earlier and probably his finger poking me.

"Awe she loves us too much to hate us" The man beside me teases. "It's my good looks Isn't it" He adds.

" I take it back. I don't hate Auston. He's quiet" I roll on my side to face William so he can see my glare. My eyes barely open but it still hurt. I have a concussion not severe but it's there. The sound of door opening stops William from voicing his displeasure of his demotion.

"Here comes Mr.Unhatible " William fake sneers making me chuckle. The door is shut softly.

"I don't know I don't wanna know but I got medication for your headache and water. Also, I didn't know if you had sunglasses so I got mine from my room." I recognized Austons voice but it's at a much softer register than usual. I can hear his footsteps approaching the bed and the rattling of a pill bottle. The bed dips making me slide towards Auston. I roll on my back and a pair of sunglasses are placed over my eyes. Gingerly opening my eyes a passive Auston is sitting to my right looking down at me.

"I got some T3's from Morgan. He said they'll make you loopy but it will work for pain." Auston shrugs digging the pill bottle out of his pocket. I sit up to take the medication with a gulp of water then reading the make cause dizziness and drowsiness.

"What time is it?" I lean back into my pillows.

"11 pm. you were out for about 20 minutes," William said checking his phone. I sign here I was thinking I'd never see these guys again and now they both in my bed! Since I met them I noticed they aren't obsessively talking about hockey like Jr.a players or other hockey players that I have met - well Sean Monahan didn't ever talk about his career or skill often. It seems to be in the NHL there is maturity with it and talking about yourself doesn't seem like the most mature thing especially if you're a rookie trying to make it in the league.

"You guys never talk about hockey" I stated out loud out of curiosity. I really wanted to see what they'd say. William said nothing just shrugged but Auston gave the vocal response which kinda shocked me he doesn't seem like the talkative one here.

"There is a time and a place for hockey and sometimes we need a break too. That's kind why we were so shocked when you defended our honor at dinner. We are expected to give answers to questions asked of us even if we don't know i. We aren't allowed to talk our minds like you did for us. We also have given up on thinking that anyone out of the league could understand our pressures but you got them exact" He held me captive with his honesty. William is nodding along to everything he teammate and friend was saying.

"We felt like asses after because all we did was stare at you. Steph said we probably made you think you said something to offend us and then we came to find you. Auston remembering your plans to work out" Will explain the thoughts and events that transpired.

"In summary, we're sorry for not saying Thank you," Auston said with a smile.

"It makes sense, All I've heard since the season started is that all about how Auston Matthews is expected to carry the team. The spotlight must get a little too hot sometimes." Auston nods nudging me over so he can lay beside me. All three of us facing the t.v. which is off. When I continued my speech was the tiniest bit slurred. "And then Nylander became part of the Leafs backbone within weeks into the season. Mitch too. You guys are amazing to watch! Mitch is like a bouncy ball he bounces right back up. Will, you are the powerplay master! Auston is always there making the small plays and the big ones" I just kept rambling on about hockey. I couldn't stop.

"You really are a fan" William noted smiling. I nodded stretching my legs out noticing how uncomfortable my workout clothes are.

"Yeah, I am" A dopey smile on my face. "And to think I thought I'd never see you guys after last night and here I am with you guys in my bed" I giggle. "Enough hockey I need to pee and change" I carefully got with minor protest from my body because I guess i hurt more than my head when I fell.

"Well, I'm gonna head out. Are you okay being alone?" William asked clearly tired. I nodded stretching out my back muscles. Williams eye flicker down my body or Maybe the meds are making me imagine it.

"I'm going to stay until she's asleep," Auston said getting to wish his bud a goodbye. Hugging will I slip into the bathroom after grabbing clothes to sleep in on the way. Finally looking in the mirror, I look like shit to put it simply. My hair half up my face pale. No longer have the ability to care thanks to the meds I wash my face and put my hair.

Feeling refreshed but still wearing Austons glasses I re-enter my room Auston sprawled out on my bed on his phone. I yawn and shiver my rooms temper low and wearing shorts and a t-shirt making to noticeable but I rather am cold than hot. The T3's have really set in because I'm tingly and giddy. Quickly crawling under the covers and shivering once more this time my jaw jutting out.

"How are feeling?" Auston asked with his usual level of seriousness briefly glancing away from his phone to scan over my form under the blankets. A chill runs up my bed making my subconsciously gravitate towards the warmth that is Auston Matthews.

"better" I hum cuddling into the pillows still wearing the glasses. Auston nods. I stare at him through the dark lenses. Thinking again of the hockey life I can't stop myself from saying things.

"You guys can't post anything fun on your socials without the talking heads ripping you to shreds if you lose. Like, do they expect you to only think hockey? It's crazy" I frown. Auston laughs not reserved a deep laugh.

"Talking heads?" He questions.

"The sports analysts on Sportsnet and such," I said like it was something he should've already known. He shakes his head smiling. "You're more mad about my social misfortune than I am" He shakes his head again. Weird boy.

"No I'm just allowed to say something, I'm not you. If you say anything the media spins it and coins it as diva attitude. Also, not everyone sees it like I can. I may be a nobody but I am an understanding nobody" I yawn out the last bit of my rant getting more comfortable.

Auston expression is very hard to read also I'm drugged up i probably couldn't read a damn book let alone a teenage man. He starts to nod after a minute of absorbing my words.

"I've never heard it put so correctly" He frowns and his brow furrow. Reaching out I smooth out the line on his face.

"No sad" I kept rubbing his face until he cracks a rare genuine smile.

"There was that so hard" I teased retracting my hand to support my head and sinking impossibly deeper into the bed.

"I should probably go, " Auston said unmoving.

"Nooo" I whine as he is the source of my heat and would offset my comfort but I resist the urge to completely cuddle up to him.

"I don't think you realize you're officially my main source of warmth" I closed my eyes and started to drift off. He gets up the warmth instantly leaving with him making my shiver and my jaw jutted again making me frown. I hear rustling and steps towards the door the light go off.

I drifted off a little more when I feel the blankets lift a gush of cold air hits my skin making me curled up further into myself with a frown when the bed dips and a large source of heat draw me in like a moth to a flame. Auston had gotten undressed from his jeans and t-shirt now leaving him just in his boxer in bed with me. He pulls me close to his front and gently removes the glasses and moving the hair out of my face. I raveled myself and enjoy the warmth.

"You're something else Amelia" He whispers as I finally drift off into the best sleep of my life with Auston Matthews in my bed - Hotel bed.

#auston matthews #william nylander #Toronto Maple Leafs #on the rocks

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flauntpage · 6 years

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The Outlet Pass: The NBA is Back and Zach LaVine is Unstoppable

Last year I ventured to analyze every side of the NBA through this column, but instead of exploring all 30 teams as randomly as one possibly can, I’m going to break things down within a rotating group of categories to make it all more digestible. (They’re all pretty self-explanatory, but just to give a quick example, “Film Session” is a category where I’ll break down a possession or two—or three or four—and then explain why they’re relevant. I promise none of this will be complicated!)

It’s a work in progress, and figuring out how to organize it the best way I possibly can will be fluid. If you have any questions, ideas, or comments, feel free to shoot me an e-mail or ask away on Twitter. Now, without further ado, welcome to The Outlet Pass’s second season. And, as ever, thank you for reading!

Film session

The 0-3 Oklahoma City Thunder might be in trouble. Heading into tonight’s game against the Boston Celtics, they have the least efficient half-court offense in the league and rank 29th in transition. They don’t pass and they can’t shoot. Not great!

The Thunder rank dead last in three-point accuracy from above the break and the corners, and are 29th from the mid-range. Everyone is shooting below 30 percent from deep except Paul George (who barely clears it at 31.3 percent); Terrance Ferguson, Jerami Grant, and Russell Westbrook are a combined “I’m not even mad, that’s amazing” 3-for-27. Nerlens Noel, Hamidou Diallo, and Steven Adams scare no one from the outside.

A three-game shooting slump is nothing to panic over. Alex Abrines will eventually heat up, George and Dennis Schröder will eventually settle down, and (somewhat superficial) stretch fours like Grant and Patrick Patterson should find some type of rhythm as the season goes on. What Oklahoma City can’t control is how defenses choose to play them—but they can control how they respond. When the floor is cramped, as it usually is, they often choose to swim upstream instead of taking what’s given.

It’s that lack of an extra pass that does those low shooting numbers no favors. They rank 28th in passes per game, 29th in assist points created, and 26th in secondary assists. (The Thunder are somehow fifth in potential assists, but, yeah, that’s neither here nor there.)

Here are a few examples:

Being that it’s Adams taking this shot from one of his sweet spots, what happens isn’t the most terrible result. But with Draymond Green sinking that far in off Patterson, a little action on the weakside might be beneficial. Either immediately kick the ball out to an open shooter or maybe have Patterson back pick Steph Curry to free up Ferguson.

Here, Schröder forces weak-side help on a drive into the paint, but instead of flipping a pass to Grant in the corner, he tries to float in a difficult layup over a collapsing Warriors defense. And on the play seen below, Grant is obsessed with attacking Klay Thompson in the post even though Abrines is wide open in his line of sight:

Two of Oklahoma City’s losses have been without their best player, a guy who averaged a triple-double two years in a row. That’s true. It also doesn’t change the moral of the story: in 2018, nothing humbles an offensive star quite like a cramped floor. Westbrook will find the rim because he’s a bull and that’s his matador, but, on the whole, high pick-and-rolls run by him and (especially) George will turn into mud more often than not. Until they add another outside threat (Andre Roberson isn’t it), get used to seeing this:

Nemanja Bjelica couldn't care less about guarding Grant in the corner. The Thunder’s spacing is terrible, but besides crashing the glass as often as they can and making open shots when they appear (surprise: no team has been worse on wide-open threes), perhaps feeding whoever the defense chooses to ignore until the floor loosens up a little bit isn’t the dumbest idea.

The Trade Machine

The Phoenix Suns do not have a point guard and, assuming they don’t want to pay Trevor Ariza $15 million on their way to another postseason-less campaign, they should probably think about acquiring one—as futile a move as it might be. But before we look at two semi-realistic options, I want to take a deeper look at why getting a real point guard is so important.

New Suns head coach Igor Kokoskov is implementing the same hand-off-saturated system we’ve seen in Utah since Quin Snyder took that job. The Suns are averaging the second-most passes per game (about 13 more than the Philadelphia 76ers led the NBA with last season), and despite their youth and athleticism, a whopping 84.9 percent of their offensive possessions have come in a half-court setting, which is second to zero teams. (In four of the last five years, Phoenix has placed top-five in the percentage of their possessions that began in transition.)

Life is different in a system that demands structure and orderliness. In Phoenix’s home opener, Kokoskov just about lost his mind when Isaiah Canaan veered off script by faking a handoff, keeping the ball, and mucking up the action’s intent. Nothing against Canaan, but confident, stable point guards don’t do that. They organize and let teammates sink into their natural roles while assuming more play-to-play pressure than anyone else. Devin Booker at the point in crunch time is fun and not the worst thing for his individual development, but it’s also not a consistent winning formula. Jamal Crawford is not the answer, either.

The list of semi-realistic options is long: there are expensive stars who may be declining (like Mike Conley and John Wall), intriguing restricted free agents to be who’ve yet to prove they can handle their own team but, depending on who you ask, have the talent to do so (Terry Rozier, Malcolm Brogdon, D’Angelo Russell), and established-but-still-improving vets who aren’t that expensive (Ricky Rubio, Marcus Smart).

There are more names to fill in, but my favorite fit is Rubio. He already knows the system, doesn’t need shots, and is the best passer named. Just about anything is possible in today’s NBA, but there is an extremely slim chance Utah disrupts its momentum by jettisoning an important starter. They’re too good. But what if the Jazz receive an offer that’s too good to pass up, then talk themselves into Dante Exum’s progression as a logical long-term partner beside Donovan Mitchell?

If the Suns really want Rubio, they can go after him as a free agent this summer. But that’s what a smart franchise would do. So long as Robert Sarver is the owner, Phoenix is not that, which brings me to the player I most want to see in a Suns jersey...

If there’s any candidate for the Blake Griffin treatment before this year’s trade deadline, it should be Wall, a supremely gifted maestro who’s currently stuck in Ernie Grunfeld’s purgatory and owed a cap-crippling extension that runs until 2023. He turned 28 in September. The Wizards are 1-3, and Wall is 2-for-17 beyond the arc. If they can get off that contract and pick up a valuable asset or two, they should do it in a heartbeat.

Phoenix’s position is harder to justify, given they’re clearly rebuilding around Booker and Deandre Ayton, neither of whom is older than 21 years old. But if headlines and relevance are a priority over patience, growth, and sensical decisions, then what the hell, right? (Wall, Booker, Ariza, Ryan Anderson, and Ayton is not a bad starting five!)

Phoenix has assets to dangle. Would T.J. Warren, Josh Jackson, and Milwaukee’s awkwardly-protected first in 2019 (that’s top-seven protected in 2020 and unprotected in 2021, which doubles as the final year of Giannis Antetokounmpo’s contract) be enough for the Wizards to bite? In reality, probably not. But they should. And the Western Conference would be that much more interesting going forward.

Character Spotlight

If I was the GM of a team that’s dangerously thin at center, Damian Jones, Golden State’s most recent (and intriguing) fifth wheel, would be an unhealthy obsession. Jones is 23 years old, seven feet tall, athletic, mobile, long, and instinctive. So far, he looks like a more responsible version of what the Warriors had with JaVale McGee.

He’s started every game and has made a league-leading 85.7 percent of his field goals, but the best part is he may ostensibly be available before the trade deadline! Golden State already has Kevon Looney, Jordan Bell, and a recuperating DeMarcus Cousins at the five spot. Meanwhile, Draymond Green will play center when it matters most, Kevin Durant is also seven feet tall, and Jonas Jerebko can moonlight at the position if need be. But more on that later.

Jones is good. As an anchor, he can defend pick-and-rolls in myriad ways, protect the rim, and stand up opposing centers who want to battle in the post. As of Wednesday, he had the sixth-most box outs in the entire league despite logging at least 20 fewer minutes than everyone who ranked higher, while opposing shooters are really struggling at the rim when he’s protecting it.

Jones battles, runs the floor, and is already a menacing vertical spacer. He’s also established enough capital with Steve Kerr to stay in games despite early foul trouble, as has already been the case twice this season. The next two possessions came right after he picked up his second foul, yet there’s no drop in his activity.

One minute later, he deflected a Derrick Favors lob that led to a Durant dunk on the other end. Sure, there was that whole ordeal where his would-be-game-tying layup was blocked by Juan Hernangomez, but for the time being, Jones has quietly morphed into a significant steal.

With a $2.3 million team option next season, before he’s eligible to become a restricted free agent in 2021, Jones is someone the Warriors may not be able to afford long-term. At the same time, Looney and Cousins are both unrestricted free agents this summer, while Bell can be restricted. It’s not that crazy to plot a scenario where Jones is not only the last big standing, but a consequential building block for whatever this roster evolves into over the next few years. Small ball is nice, but Joel Embiid, Anthony Davis, and Karl-Anthony Towns are coming.

A Bold Take

Zach LaVine will be this season's scoring champion. In the first four games of a four-year, $78 million contract that the Chicago Bulls were heavily criticized for feeding into their cap sheet, he dropped 129 points with a 69.5 True Shooting percentage and 33.3 usage rate. He's scored at least 30 points in every game, and Monday night LaVine mutilated the Dallas Mavericks, doing as he pleased against every pick-and-roll coverage Rick Carlisle threw at him.

So, how do we go from witnessing a four-game inferno to making a prediction that feels even hotter? To begin, let’s first identify a few parameters that don’t make the idea look that insane. For starters: the three-point line. It’s become a fluke-inducing game changer—the sort of variable that makes inconceivable events feel possible. And LaVine doesn’t need anybody's help taking advantage.

He has the conscience (or lack thereof), legs, and willingness to pull up from 25 feet seven, eight, nine times per game. He can create his own shot from anywhere on the floor, whenever he wants, and looks faster and stronger than he did before he tore his ACL, with more sway over his own NASA-regulated athleticism. Dribbles aren’t wasted; he’s becoming a carnivore who’s learned not to play with his prey.

Here he takes a stagger screen from Jabari Parker and Robin Lopez, sees a crack in Dwight Powell’s coverage, and jackhammers his way into the paint with a right-to-left crossover. One play later, Chicago ran the exact same action, but this time LaVine rejects the screen (at the very beginning, watch how he tries to confuse Dorian Finney-Smith by pointing at where he wants the pick) and finishes with a dunk. There’s no hesitation.

LaVine has more than enough tools to attack from all three levels, with an ability to separate behind the three-point line, dance in the mid-range, and finish strong at the rim (as he did with his left hand against Joel Embiid in Chicago’s opener). It’s impressive, and, on this roster, will unleash itself beneath a dark cloud of necessary selfishness. If LaVine moves the ball, there’s a slim chance he’ll get it back (especially when Parker is on the floor—the Bulls do not pass!). He’ll also operate in lineups that feature big men who can space the floor. Look how far out Bobby Portis stands in the clip below, trying to drag Ben Simmons away from his help responsibilities. Now picture Lauri Markkanen in the same spot:

There are more outside factors that support LaVine’s chase for a scoring crown: 1) Chicago will rarely, if ever, taste a fourth-quarter blowout in their favor, trotting out defensive units that quickly surrender gobs of points without any resistance, 2) We exist in an era that’s defined by selfless All-Stars who’re happy to sacrifice their own numbers for the chance to team up with other All-Stars, 3) And, again, the three-point line’s incessant takeover of NBA aesthetics. Combine all this with LaVine’s own improvement and it’s easy to see how he’s set up to contend for, if not win, the 2019 scoring title. So many of his buckets will be empty calories, but if he manages to sustain even 80 percent of what’s already on display, LaVine’s contract will become a steal. (His defense hasn’t been awful, either!) Even if it’s due to a flurry of circumstance, he’ll also be the NBA’s top scorer.

Small Sample Size Theatre

Kemba Walker was a breakout topic of conversation during the season’s first week. In five games, he’s averaging an efficient 31 points. And even though an eventual return to Earth is more probable than not, there’s also some reason to believe that we’re witnessing a “late” career leap. Walker probably won’t do what Steph Curry did in 2015, but why can’t his upcoming season mirror the explosion detonated by Isaiah Thomas two years ago?

Right now he’s the league’s fifth-leading scorer, and not to subtweet Dwight Howard, but look at how good Walker was last season when Howard wasn’t on the floor. Those numbers are a dagger, and speak to how much better he can be in small (shout out to Michael Kidd-Gilchrist at the five), spread lineups that also feature big men who can pass on the move. Consider the mind of a defense as it tries to stop him in the pick-and-roll. If the screener’s man drops, well, Walker made 38.1 percent of his pull-up threes last season and through five games is 15-for-38 (that’s both accurate and a ridiculously high volume). If you trap or bring the screener’s man level with the pick, execution is key. Whenever he splits a screen, it’ll make you think about paintings in the MOMA.

And even if you squeeze the ball out of his hands, there’s a good chance your weak-side defense will somehow get punished by an open three. This skip pass was awesome:

In the same vein as Thomas, Walker’s three-point shot forces the defense to remain in code red whenever he has or doesn’t have the ball, but in order for him to sustain his efficiency there must be an aggressive willingness to drive, finish, and draw fouls in the paint. So far he’s averaging about half as many free-throws per game as Thomas did in 2017, with the lowest free-throw rate of his career. If Walker wants to reach that next tier and legitimately find himself in the MVP conversation, obviously Charlotte needs to exceed expectations and bump itself as high as a five or six seed, but also he needs to score efficiently at a high volume against teams that will view slowing him down as steps 1, 2, and 3 to victory.

This Stat Feels Important

The Milwaukee Bucks have scored a lower percentage of their points from the mid-range than every other team in the league, including the Houston Rockets. Right now, they’re at 1.7 percent. Last season, they finished at 13.7 percent, which was ninth-highest in the league.

Given what we know about their new head coach, their old head coach, and the ceiling this roster’s all-around talent has yet to discover about itself, that first stat feels like the moment in any classic horror movie where the babysitter tries to call 911 right when the power goes out. If you aren’t a Bucks fan, you are that babysitter.

Digging a bit deeper into Milwaukee’s offense, we already knew Brook Lopez and Ersan Ilyasova would allow Giannis Antetokounmpo to demolish everything in his path, but it’s jarring how quickly this team has adopted and taken advantage of Budenholzer’s five-out system. Antetokounmpo is having a field day, sure, but it’s easy to overlook just how beneficial an equal-opportunity/mid-decade-Hawks outlook would be for the supplementary pieces, too. There’s more freedom to shoot threes, yes. More importantly, with an open paint, there’s more space to cut, move, dive, and slip for easy layups.

At times, Milwaukee’s half-court offense looks like the Warriors, with split cuts that force defenses to pay attention and communicate all over the floor. The system is a beast unto itself, and taming it while Antetokounmpo breathes fire in your face can’t be fun.

Related: the evolution of Khris Middleton’s shot chart deserves its own thousand-word essay, but for the time being here are the basics. According to Basketball-Reference, the 27-year-old’s career three-point rate heading into this season was .322. Right now it’s .508! In Milwaukee’s first five games last season, Middleton only made three three pointers. This year, he’s already drilled seven against the New York Knicks, five against the Indiana Pacers, and three a piece in the Bucks’ opener in Charlotte, and last night’s win over the Philadelphia 76ers.

With an easy stroke, long arms, and a high release, Middleton should’ve already cemented himself as one of the most feared high-volume deep threats in the NBA. Instead, Budenholzer’s offense was the key to accentuating a more valuable part of his game.

Even though Lopez gets called for a foul, it matters that Milwaukee is actively looking to free Middleton up from downtown by incorporating subtle wrinkles like the off-ball drag screen seen above.

Strictly talking personnel, the range and length that Milwaukee has accumulated over the past few years comes with a futuristic identity. It’s nice to see them finally embrace such a fashionably effective style of play to go along with it.

What The Hell Was That?

Last season, when they were the fastest team in basketball, the New Orleans Pelicans liked to race up the floor and begin a possession with a small-small side pick-and-roll, then have the screener (be it Jrue Holiday, E’Twaun Moore, Ian Clark, or whoever) slip towards the basket. It almost always resulted in a layup.

In New Orleans’s home opener against the Sacramento Kings, the Pelicans got extra tricky. As they appear to get ready for a time-out—watch Anthony Davis slowly walk towards the sideline—Holiday stands on the right wing ready to execute their signature action, then darts backdoor to catch Elfrid Payton’s bounce pass.

Bravo, Pelicans. That’s some next-level duplicity right there.

This Has Nothing To Do With Basketball But…

Erik Spoelstra definitely wore a maroon blazer during a game last week and for that he should be inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame tomorrow. That is all.

Character Spotlight (Bonus)

There’s almost something vaudevillian about Vince Carter beginning his 21st season as the starting power forward in Atlanta, the garage-rock band version of an NBA franchise that’s currently in the first stage of an appropriately depressing rebuild. Carter is 41 years old and last Wednesday night he suited up as the second-oldest opening day starter in league history (shout out to The Chief).

To be clear, the Hawks didn’t sign Carter to help them win games. At the start of Atlanta’s win over the Cleveland Cavaliers, it took three minutes for Lloyd Pierce to replace Carter, who was valiantly trying to stay with Kevin Love. But the impact he should have on younger teammates is kind of cool!

“It definitely is [surreal], and he’s gotten a chance a couple times to tell us some stories,” rookie Kevin Huerter told VICE Sports. “I think a couple weeks ago was the anniversary of when he had the dunk in the Olympics over the seven-foot guy, and we watched that as a team during film and he walked us through what he was thinking, so I mean that was a cool moment.”

Huerter had just celebrated his second birthday when Carter committed that memorable murder, but even now it’s awesome to watch him hustle around the court, lopsided score be damned, to do legendary stuff like this:

Carter is more than a motivational speaker, though. He played fourth-quarter minutes in Atlanta’s comeback win against the Dallas Mavericks last night. God bless this man.

The Outlet Pass: The NBA is Back and Zach LaVine is Unstoppable published first on https://footballhighlightseurope.tumblr.com/

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flowfromthefingertips · 6 years

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Favorite Memories... READ SECOND!!

I remember that time you pulled up to your parking spot in Crown and I walked out. You were out your window singing a country song. I turned around and pretended to go back inside... I... I didn’t know you were serenading me. I felt bad when I saw you throw your keys on the ground and cry. I tried everything to make you feel better... or at least I thought... I would of done anything you asked me to make it up to you. Every day tasks remind me of you. I will look at something that is mine and remember a memory we had with it. I look at my lighter Jim and get sad for two reasons, he’s dead and that night you said you love me. Remember how it played out? If not here is what I remember, from seeing M and that point.

It was almost 9PM and Little Caesars was closing. So we took M’s car and we went in and got a pizza. I think it was just cheese and some cinnamon monkey bread. We had to wait for them to make the pizza. The lights shut off while we were in there. We got our pizza and went to Maple Lawn Park to eat it. We all smoked a bong. I saw “WHORE” written on a picnic table in pink letters and took a picture of it. I posted it on snapchat and it was titled “I can be your WHORE”. I got a kick out of that. We went back to M's car and I was done smoking because I was more baked than a bean. You two were up front smoking more. You needed a lighter so you asked for Jim. I was joking around with you pretending to give him to you. You said something like “stop let me use him” and I kept pulling away. Well, you go to me, jokingly “I hate you” then you say out loud “no I’m kidding” then under your whispers you go “I love you”. I just left it there until we got to my place. We were on the patio smoking a cigarette and I go “so, what about that thing you said in M’s car?” it got silent and you go “what thing?” I go “those words.. those three words” or something. You go “Oh, I was hoping you didn’t hear that it just slipped out” so I look at you and said “well words like that don’t slip out unless you mean it... do you” you go, “yes.. yes I FUCKING love you okay?” I smile and go “good because I love you too.”

That is one of my favorite stories to tell people and one of my favorite memories...

Speaking of favorite memories of us... I’m going to list my favorite memories we’ve shared over the course of a year and a half (exclude the 3/4 month break up).

When we first met. S picked me up and I was wearing my Bob Marley tank top and red shorts. I wanted weed and we got to the nearest stop light and you offered me a bowl. I just thought you were being nice. We went to the dollar tree to get pool noodles and I was already baked and it was funny we called the orange one “donald trumps penis”. Well we get to the lake and I’m not swimming because I’m on my period and you asked for my number so I yelled it out. As we were leaving I was walking and I saw you were trying to keep up with me so I sped up to see if you would speed up. You did. So I was freaking out to my best friend over text. I got super thirsty and ran into Taco Bell to get a drink and you followed. Well you had to work so we dropped you off at your exes house and you went to work. Well after work, S, you, and I all hung out and I was still stoned, kinda and we walked down 4th st with my twizzlers... You went across the street and I followed while S was far behind and the twizzlers fell out by godfathers. Right when I was about to hold your hand you went across the street to see S. I don’t remember if you stayed the night or not.

The first time I saw your car. It was a mess. You told me “I basically live in my car” and I’m like “it’s okay my room is a mess too”.

I remember hanging out with just you and we were stoned. We got to my room and I opened my door and asked “what do you want to do? Watch TV or something?” you nodded. I was getting undressed and told you “I like to lay in bed in just my boxers”. I think you got into your panties too. Then you saw the picture of H and I and go “you know, she isn’t that pretty” and I said “I think she is.” and I told you about my rating scale and you asked “what am I” I told you “about a 7.. 7.5.. But if I got to know you more maybe it’ll be higher. Well we were watching Impractical Jokers in silence and then out of the blue, you put your head on your hand and go “well, ask me questions to get to know me” and I asked you favorite TV show and I agreed. I asked about your favorite book you responded with “wanna know a secret?” I said yes... you say “I dont like reading” and I laugh and go “me too”. Let me tell you, that night you went from a 7.5 to a solid 50.

When you asked me out I was with S and her sister B at Cannon lake. They were swimming I was not. You called me and asked me out. I agreed. Then S told you about who I was dating and I told you “I thought I told you about that. If I didn’t I knew I was going to break up with her” and you said “okay” and from there we were a couple.

The first time we had sex. I never enjoyed giving to someone that much. Once you climaxed I go “looks like someone made a mess. Maybe I should clean it up” and I went down. I never enjoyed going down on someone as much as you. When you shook I lost it. It was fucking sexy. Once we were done I came up and laid there... But I think you put my arm around you so I could cuddle you. We fell asleep like that... That was the day both of us were late for work.

The first time I held you hand in S’s car. I had my backpack between us and I was thinking to myself “do I do it?” I was so scared... But I went for it and I could feel how our hands were made for each other.

When S, C, you, and I went to see S’s girl we had her hit two blunts. S’s was freaking out in the back while C comforted her. I don’t know why this is one of my favorites. Maybe because I was up front with you. I was thinking I was going to be in the back.

That one time we were going to smoke my weed when you got off work but it got stolen and you offered your weed.

Your graduation... I got way to high. Your nephew came and put a plastic flower crown on my head and I announce to everyone that “I’M A PRETTY PRINCESS”. You snuck off with J and I to smoke more. We were sitting in the grass with your car hiding us... You asked if I wanted to smoke and I go “naw” well J jokingly asks “why, you a cop” and we laugh and I smoke with you guys. J, you and I also snuck away to Casey’s so you can smoke more. I had special weed for a special occasion and we smoke it that night with your dad... He will probably never know... Unless you tell him in the future.

The first time meeting your mom and her husband. I was so god damn stoned and had hickies all over me... The dog disliked you and refused a chip from you but took one from my and I go “the dog took the chip” you were so offended.

The first time meeting your dad. We hung out with J and you got high with her and I didn’t. You didn’t plan on me meeting your dad but it was just much easier to go there without dropping me off. Thank god I didn’t smoke.

The first time I met T. A, T, you, and I all held hands at the park in Owatonna. That was the gayest experience of my life.That is when T and you did the prayer pose together. Before that I went on the slide and smoked my own bowl and then came over to join.

The party with M, A, you, and I. I had to poop so A and I walked to Holiday drunk. A took off her shirt and I took off my pants. M and you show up by the library... seeing us with no pants and shirt.

The first time I tried your dab pen. I didn’t cough right away and you were about to get so angry but then I coughed up a fucking lung after smoking out of some kind of piece.

When we were broken up and I was over at Steph’s and you stopped over. I was in her room high as fuck on ads. I didn’t pay attention to you. I went on skype with who I was dating and you kept interfering and I hung up. Well when you left you made sure to touch me some how. Once you were gone I message you “you do know you didn’t have to touch me” and you respond “I know”. I left her house that night to get gel pens at Wal-mart. You called me and go “got any drugs” my response “not weed” you said “alright just what ever.” I gave them to you because I figured you were in pain and needed an escape like me.

Christmas day. You called me asking what I was doing I was doing nothing. You asked if you could come over to cuddle. I asked why and you said “because it’s Christmas and I’m lonely”. Honestly, I was lonely too and wishing you were there to cuddle.

When we weren’t official but you were devoted to me. I saw how jealous you got. So I left her because I wanted to be with you.

When I asked you out in a poem. You told me later on you refrained from screaming “YES YES YES... A THOUSAND TIMES YES”.

When you told me your home is where ever I am.

When you realized you loved me and said “I want you to be mine and only mine and I want to be yours and only yours”. I didn’t know that was your way of asking me out. Even though I had those on my neck you still came over and gave me love.

Sticking by me and staying with me when the whole D thing blew up.

When you were drunk in Florida and called me and go “I love you so much that I want to show you around town in a salmon suit”. Then you joined the skype call and that’s how the inside joke “WHERE’S KYLE” came about.

I could go on and on about my favorite memories and I apologize I am keeping you here this long. I just NEED you to know how much I love you and would do anything to call you mine again. I understand you need space and I am getting to that ramble. Just bear with me for two more, okay?

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racingtoaredlight · 7 years

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Ranking The 50 Best Non-Kelly Olynyk Players In The NBA, Part 5

There are a maximum of 449 non-Kelly Olynyk players on NBA rosters nowadays, give or take an injury exception or two. Make no mistake, they are all ridiculously good at basketball compared to the population at large. But, in the NBA universe, some players are better than others. I’ve taken the liberty of poring over stat-laden spreadsheets, breaking down game film, snorting piles of coke, throwing darts, flipping coins, arguing with my pets, sobbing uncontrollably, and going with my gut to arrive at a list of fifty truly elite athletes.

A couple of points of order before we start:

I’m disregarding the players’ contracts for this exercise. So, a guy doesn’t move ahead of a better player due to costing less, and conversely a player won’t be dinged for being “overpaid.”

This isn’t a “Who I Would Build A Franchise Around For the Next Five Years” kind of deal. I’m ranking these gents based on who I would want for next season, and next season alone. So the value of older players isn’t totally crippled by expected age-related regression, and young guns don’t automatically rocket to the top of the list based on potential alone.

That’s pretty much it. Let’s get the party started.

PART 1 PART 2 PART 3 PART 4

#10. Chris Paul. Chris Paul seems miserable to play with. Having said that, he’s one of the most efficient point guards in the history of the league, and he unquestionably makes his teammates better. He showed the first real signs of decline this season, but was still among the league’s best. If Chris Paul is running the show for you, you’re in good shape. My grandmother is a resident of Winston-Salem, North Carolina and is a huge Wake Forest fan. She’s also an avid reader of this here blog, and called me the other night and said “Clahde, if yew don’t have Chris Pawl in yer top teein, I’m never makin’ yew any fried chicken an hush puppehs ever agin. Also, I’ll come ta yer house an bleed yew ta death with yer grandaddeh’s letter opener.” My Gram’s a big Chris Paul fan.

#9. James Harden. Harden’s game is so horrible to watch. I know intellectually that the things he does make total sense within the rules of the game, and can kind of sort of appreciate the fact that he’s mastered the techniques he uses. But, being subjected to it is just brutal. Having said all of that, there’s no denying that he’s an extremely effective player. He’s the only legit franchise player in any sport that if I were a team owner, I would sign, and then never watch any of my team’s games. I’d spend the season doing normal super-rich guy stuff, like hunting supermodels on my private island, and having sex with transients. Maybe I mixed those two things up, maybe not. Fuck you, I’m rich.

#8. Nikola Jokic. Sub-ranking of best Jokers: 1) Ledger, 2) Jokic, 3) Nicholson, 491) Jared Leto. I know this blurb is supposed to be about Nikola Jokic and his extremely high ranking, but I really want to talk about how much Jared Leto sucks. Look at this shit. I still can’t believe these are things that really happened. If he was a REAL method actor he would’ve thrown himself into a vat of toxic waste. Pussy. In what world are Jared Leto’s contributions as an actor worth putting up with a single one of those things? YOU’RE A DOLLAR STORE DANIEL DAY-LEWIS AT BEST, YOU PIECE OF SHIT. Jared Leto wasn’t born, he sprung into existence after a group of homeless heroin addicts jerked off into a trunk filled with costume jewelry. Nikola Jokic has amazing passing skills for a 7-footer.

#7. Kawhi Leonard. I obviously think Kawhi is a great player, given that I have him at #7. But, I do think he’s just a smidge overrated. The Spurs as a whole benefit from the exaggerated narrative that they’re this unsexy, workmanlike, small-market, does-everything-the-right-way team. So, when they were pitted against the hated, “everything-that’s wrong-with-today’s-athletes” Miami Heat superteam in those two Finals match-ups, the desire to see them prevail clouded popular opinion and caused their greatness to become a tad overstated. Kawhi Leonard benefitted the most from this. Again, he’s an awesome player and any team would love to have him, but this notion that he’s the second best player in the NBA is a bit much. He doesn’t really create for other players, and his defense actually took a small step back this season. Great player, but not in my top five.

#6. Karl-Anthony Towns. There’s nothing not to love about KAT. He’s the best and most complete big man in the NBA, and he’s not even 22 years old yet. He pulled down 12 boards per game this season, and has the length and athleticism to lead the league in blocks. He averaged 25 points per game while hitting 54% from the field, 37% from three and 83% from the foul line. He’s also goofy and hilarious off the court. I’m so riled up over here I can’t even think of any jokes to write. Why did the chicken cross the road? TO TELL EVERYONE HOW FUCKING AWESOME KARL-ANTHONY TOWNS IS!

#5. Giannis Antetokounmpo. Figuring out who to rank higher between Giannis and KAT was the toughest part of this entire exercise. KAT has the higher floor, but The Greek Freak’s abilities have no ceiling. He’s honestly one of the most amazing athletic marvels of our time. I gave Giannis the nod by the slimmest of margins based on his ability to legitimately play all five positions, and on the fact that he’s a literal superhuman. Like, nothing is off the table for next season with him. Could he rampage through next season like a 6′ 11″ Russell Westbrook and average a triple-double? Yes, he could. I’d settle for him continuing to develop as a three-point threat, because once he adds that to his arsenal there won’t be any way to stop him. At only 22 years old, his game has plenty of time to grow, which is terrifying as a fan of an Eastern Conference rival, and exhilarating as a fan of sports in general.

#4. Stephen Curry. Anyone who tries to act like Steph isn’t a devastating offensive player is a moron. The dude can put the ball in the basket as well as anyone on Earth. He’s an incredibly efficient shooter from anywhere on the floor. The fact that defenders have to pick him up as soon as he crosses half-court warps the entire structure of a team’s defense, and makes the Warriors’ offense extremely difficult to handle. His personal stats took a hit this season with Golden State’s addition of Kevin Durant, but that doesn’t mean Steph’s skills have diminished in any way. He’s the best shooter to ever play the game.

#3. Russell Westbrook. Russ is a horrifyingly intense individual on the court. The most common criticism of him is that he shoots too much. This would be a valid criticism, if there were a single other player on his team that could score with anything resembling consistency. Westbrook doing everything for OKC this season was actually their best option on every possession. Would people like him more if he’d deferred some, and the team won ten fewer games? That’s craziness. He’s probably the most explosively athletic point guard to ever play, and he’s operating at the peak of his powers. This season definitively proved that as long as you have Russ, you’ll make the playoffs regardless of whatever collection of shit-smeared mannequins you surround him with. That’s the definition of a franchise player, in my book. The making the playoffs no matter what part, not so much the shitty mannequins. That’s a gross image, I don’t even know why I wrote that.

#2. Kevin Durant. I’m in agreement with everyone who believes that it was lame as hell for KD to join the Warriors. His decision dropped one team from the ranks of title contenders while making a different team a nigh-unbeatable juggernaut. For me, that makes the league as a whole a little less fun. But, I can understand why he did it. His game couldn’t possibly be a better fit anywhere than it is in Golden State. He’s right there with Steph Curry when it comes to shooting efficiency, the only difference is that KD is seven feet tall with crazy long arms. His jumper is completely unguardable. Aside from the winning and the wide-open looks he now routinely gets, another benefit of his move to the Warriors is that he’s able to show that he’s actually pretty damned good defensively. In a lot of the lineups Golden State throws out there KD is the lone rim-protector, and he’s done a better-than-expected job in that role. But, let’s not pretend that KD’s value is coming from his defense. When it’s all said and done, he really could go down as the greatest scorer in the history of basketball.

#1. The PB & J. There’s never been a team in any era that wouldn’t cast aside their best player in favor of a PB & J. This playmaker combines slightly savory peanut butter with a sweet, fruity explosion of jelly between a couple of slices of starchy, carb-loaded Heaven, and it’s headed straight for the Hall of Fame, no doubt about it. The PB & J is universally beloved in every locker room it’s been in, and that kind of morale-boosting ability is desperately needed in the dog days of an 82-game grind. Team chemistry is no joke. The PB & J gets bonus points because to the best of my knowledge Delonte West never fucked it’s mom.

HONORABLE MENTION: LeBron James.

THE MASTER LIST:

1. PB & J 2. Kevin Durant 3. Russell Westbrook 4. Stephen Curry 5. Giannis Antetokounmpo 6. Karl Anthony Towns 7. Kawhi Leonard 8. Nikola Jokic 9. James Harden 10. Chris Paul 11. Paul George 12. John Wall 13. Anthony Davis 14. Rudy Gobert 15. Jimmy Butler 16. Marc Gasol 17. Kyrie Irving 18. Damian Lillard 19. Draymond Green 20. Isaiah Tomas 21. DeMarcus Cousins 22. Gordon Hayward 23. Kyle Lowry 24. Joel Embiid 25. Kemba Walker 26. Hassan Whiteside 27. Blake Griffin 28. Kristaps Porzingas 29. DeAndre Jordan 30. Klay Thompson 31. Kevin Love 32. Eric Bledsoe 33. Andre Drummond 34. DeMar Derozan 35. Bradley Beal 36. Myles Turner 37. Paul Millsap 38. Carmelo Anthony 39. Brook Lopez 40. CJ McCollum 41. Mike Conley 42. Al Horford 43. LaMarcus Aldridge 44. Goran Dragic 45. Dario Saric 46. Jeff Teague 47. Dwight Howard 48. Andrew Wiggins 49. Nikola Vucevic 50. Otto Porter Jr. Honorable Mention: LeBaron James

Well, there you have it. These were fun to write, I hope they were fun to read. For the readers who aren’t really NBA fans, why are you so racist? Not cool.

#NBA #Basketball #Rankings #Lists #Giving The People What They Want

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ryanonwrasslin-blog · 7 years

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The Wrestling Optimist - March 23, 2017

Welcome to my weekly, mostly optimistic, look at the wonderful world of professional wrestling. This came about because I’m working my hardest to stop being such a miserable smark, and this column is my best effort at both keeping myself honest and funneling out the various thoughts I have on wrestling. For the most part, this will be a WWE-themed piece every week, and it’s still evolving, but for now I think I’ve found a solid format. I urge you to join me in being a happier wrestling fan, whatever that may mean to you!

Theme of the Week

Changes, they are a-comin'.

I touch on a few specifics in the "Hitting the Finisher" section, but it's been widely held that, post-Mania, there will be roster shake-ups all throughout WWE. We see some hints of that on TV this week, with Foley being fired, Steph "punishing" Mick's closest friends on the roster, AJ maybe being on the outs with the SDL management, the Usos perhaps teasing a new direction for Smackdown's tag divison, some NXT wrestlers finishing up their storylines, and new faces on NXT (Ember, Ohno, Ruby Riot) getting attention.

And that's without even touching on the several storylines likely to conclude at Mania that will open up several dance cards from April onward (KO/ Jericho, Cena/ Miz, Goldberg/ Lesnar, Reigns/ Taker, and Shane/ AJ all figure to not go past Mania). There's a reason why the shows right after Mania are often considered the most must-see TV of the wrestling year, because no other point in the year has so many resets and surprises. In this smark-ass world, that sort of unknown is rare.

10 Best Moments of the Week

Total Bellas Bullshit Smackdown Live as a whole was incredible this week, as you can tell by how frequently it shows up in this list. It had two really strong matches, two other fun, short ones, and just had a good time all around by, in part, not taking itself too seriously or grounding itself too much in reality. But the highlight was the Miz and Maryse and it wasn't even close. Miz's Cena impression was the height of parody, and Maryse, in addition to looking as jaw-dropping as ever in that Nikki outfit, stole the show from right out under him. I can't give this enough praise.

Now THAT'S how you start building a Tag Team division I’m talking of course, about American Alpha and the Usos. can someone tell me why this wasn't this done at one of the recent PPV's? These two teams worked really well together, and I hope they draw out Alpha's inevitable chase for their belts. Since it's not clear that anything is happening with the SDL Tag division at Mania, let Alpha feud with someone else for a month or two, win clean as a whistle, build momentum, and take the titles from the Usos over the summer so that it means something. This is the first step of rebuilding the division, and it's a great one, but they still need to take steps 2, 3, 4, etc.

My God, that list has a family! I'm all the way in on this KO/ Y2J feud, even more than I was before, incredibly enough. This segment was the best of Monday night, with Jericho's line about a young KO marking out, maaaaaaaan, a particular highlight that humanizes KO while also making him look like an even bigger asshole for throwing away his true self for what he thinks are his own personal interests. And then he starts playing mind games with KO about it. It's not easy for a babyface to play mind games, but Jericho walks that line skillfully. And KO roughing up Jericho and even eating the list was just beautiful. Also, Jericho at the peak of his powers with the fans is a sight to behold. They were loving that dude last night. When he's done with the pro graps business we're going to have a very tough time figuring out where Jericho ranks in the all-time pantheon of superstars. Not only has he had some incredible highs, but his frequent sabbaticals have allowed his career to stretch on for a duration of excellence that almost no one has ever reached in wrestling history. This guy debuted in WCW over 20 years ago and we're coming up on the 19th anniversary of the list of 1,004 holds. Unreal.

Southpaw Regional Wrestling This wasn't an actual happening on one of the wrestling shows this week, but I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the series of YouTube videos that hit the internet this week. I honestly can't pick out a favorite part. Go watch the whole 25 minutes of the series.

This version of Mick Foley can be my babyface GM anytime You can see below that I'm not sure where they're going with this storyline involving Foley's buddies backstage, but I do have some possible high hopes. That aside, Foley cut a really strong promo and then got to have meaningful interactions backstage that likely reflect how many of these wrestlers actually feel about the man. Shouldn't we have been letting him have these kinds of interactions since Summerslam? That would have beat him getting preachy about Hell in a Cell or trying to motivate Sami Zayn in the weirdest way possible or whatever. This was always the payoff, and hopefully they nail the ramifications of it in a way that makes it all worth it, I just wish we could have had more of it.

Randy Orton and Baron Corbin should do that again soon I wasn't sure in the least how this would work, but I really dug Orton and Corbin's work together.

Bray Wyatt and his literal sheep followers This is the kind of stuff they've needed to do with Wyatt for months or years even. This was genuinely creepy stuff, and I loved Renee recognizing what was happening right away and dashing the hell out of that interview when the light flickered.

Samoa Joe vs. Sami Zayn This will always be a good match. I like the way they work against one another. I remain surprised SmoJo isn't booked for Mania yet. I guess he could be in the AMBAR, but that feels like a bit of a letdown. Maybe they let these two do it again at Mania and give them like 10 electric minutes?

Your Crazy Matches My Crazy I'm not going to pretend like I really knew Heidi Lovelace. Like most indy wrestlers, I'd mostly just seen her on a handful of YouTube videos here and there, most of which I watched after hearing that she'd been signed by WWE. But that was a hell of a debut last night on NXT as, apparently, Ruby Riot. And I'm really into her going against crazy-ass Nikki Cross. Ruby seems like she'd be the type to not be afraid, or even a little bit worried, about Nikki's lunacy. Not sure if they'll rush these two into a program for Takeover or just have them on the periphery of a 6-man tag and lead to a long-term feud from there, but either way I'm into it.

Breezy Bella and The Southpaw Regional Wrestling Announce Team Explodes Only Smackdown Live would even think to not just acknowledge the viral YouTube sensation but also book their biggest star into a match based off of it. And then, because Breezango is just the best and most under-utilized, Tyler Breeze comes out dressed as Nikki Bella. And in maybe the most surprising moment of the night, we get a taste of intergender wrestling, with Nikki hitting her cutter and her STF on Breeze while Cena does likewise on Fandango. Fun stuff all around.

Let The Smark Out

For as much as I’m trying to be an optimist, wrestling is not a perfect product. Far from it, really, and when you have problems with something, it’s healthy to let that sort of thing out. So, in the hopes of keeping a 5:1 ratio tilted toward the good side, here are my two complaints of the week:

-Did we really need to find a way to shoe-horn just about every woman with a pulse into two matches? We couldn't have let one championship stand as a singles match and then put together, like, a third match for the pre-show that was like a 6-woman tag of Raw vs. Smackdown? I think WWE will give both matches at least 10 minutes at Mania and put them both of the main card (though this might be a foolish assumption on my part), so I don't want to act like we're back in the old days of utterly disrespecting the entire division, but one of those titles should have been 1 on 1.

-I'll give WWE credit for making a few of the less-certain 'Mania matches into worthy fights. The mixed tag is a great example of this, and I'm beyond hyped for that match. But the one match that should have been a lay-up, Triple H vs. Seth Rollins, has fallen flat for a multitude of reasons. Seth has gotten his ass-kicked repeatedly by Trips and SmoJo, and of late the build has just been Seth and Trips talking at length to crowds that aren't really that into it. Trips was working hard to get the crowd to launch into "Rollins" chants Monday night, but that garnered about as "meh" a reaction as you could imagine. I imagine the match will end up being strong because Rollins is excellent in the ring and Trips loves the opportunity to fight guys like that, but this build has not given me anything like the attraction I was hoping for.

Let’s Rank Stuff!

One of the best things to do as a wrestling fan is to compare things. Who’s on the Mount Rushmore of wrestling? Who was the most over with the crowd? Who’s the best in-ring worker? What’s the most uncomfortable Attitude Era storyline in retrospect? That’s what I’m going to do here every week, pick a topic and rank it as I see it. Feel free to chime in with your own thoughts! I’d love to hear them.

10. Dean Malenko - I wasn't a WCW guy so this is based basically on the clips from the "1,004 Holds" list time. 9. Christian - The way they handled some of the intergender stuff can be weird in hindsight, but I still remember this pretty fondly. 8. Chris Benoit - Great as both a pairing and fighting against one another. 7. Kevin Owens - This could go higher if the Mania match is as good as I hope. 6. Rey Mysterio - Dude unmasked Rey Mysterio. That's worth a spot alone. 5. Triple H - It feels like these guys fought a billion times, and that's not by accident. Regardless of alignment, they work well together. 4. CM Punk- I have a soft spot for this feud. Prior to the KO stuff, this was my favorite late-prime version of Jericho. 3. Stephanie McMahon- Obviously they didn't actually fight, but goddamn if these two don't have a lot of chemistry cutting promos on each other. 2. The Rock- Rocky being Jericho's first foe in WWE immediately made Y2J matter, but the better feud is after the Invasion for the WCW title in 2001. 1. Shawn Michaels- There was no one even in consideration for this spot. One of the defining feuds of 21st century WWE.

Match of the Week

The Usos vs. American Alpha for the Smackdown Live Tag Team Championships

WWE can never quite seem to figure out how invested they ought to be in tag team wrestling. NXT in 2016 miraculously turned a once-miserable division into one of the strongest divisions in all of wrestling. But that mostly hasn't translated to the main roster, which is why it can be even more frustrating when, even for a night, they get tag team wrestling so very, very correct. And that's what happened this past Tuesday, as the Usos and American Alpha put on, like, the best tag match the main roster has seen in... years? I honestly don't remember a better one though that could be a recency bias. The Usos were the right kind of heel, acting like assholes, cutting a few corners, but still showing that they are very, very good at this. And American Alpha, as white-bread babyface as they get, matched them in the ring for several electric minutes until the Usos, in the end, prevailed. If WWE can't build off of this, then I give the hell up.

Where Do We Go From Here?

I thought I'd consider the sort of surprises and turns we might be able to expect from Wrestlemania. The most obvious area of interest centers around the New Day. Whether it's a segment with the Rock, the Broken Hardys, some celebrities and legends, or maybe (pretty please) a certain Top Guys from NXT. Regardless, something fun will be happening with New Day, and here's hoping it gives these dudes some kind of a direction after Mania.

There are similar possibilities with the Usos and Smackdown's tag division as a whole. There are rumors they might be the target of the Broken Hardys, or perhaps it's all folded into a segment with New Day that results in a trade to Smackdown and a serious beefing up of that division. They may not get a match, but I don't believe Smackdown's tag division will be ignored entirely.

The Smackdown Women's division is teasing some vague language across the board. I'm still hoping for a Ladder match announcement, and that we get Evil Emma and Summer Rae in the match, along with a returning Naomi, possibly a WWE alum, and maybe even the almighty Asuka. This could be a fun match if they give it a chance.

The AMBAR is obviously a spot where we'll see who gets the big push post-Mania. Strowman is the heavy favorite if he enters, but I'd be into someone talented but underutilized getting a shot here. We also figure to get a surprise entrant or two.

Shane McMahon vs. AJ Styles feels like it could be a spot for a surprise appearance. AJ is the best wrestler in the world and should murk Shane O'Mac, which makes me think shenanigans are in play. Does something Bullet Club related happen here?

Lastly, I remain fascinated by Braun Strowman's tangential involvement in the Undertaker vs. Roman Reigns match. If this goes to some kind of No-DQ stipulation, you better believe Strowman is showing up.

Hitting The Finisher

There has been talk about AJ Styles going to Raw after Mania as an result of this Shane O'Mac feud, a monumental change because Styles has, quite frankly, been the biggest reason for Smackdown being the best wrestling show on TV for months now. And given that the rest of Smackdown's roster is relatively thin (without Styles and assuming Cena is on another hiatus, the top of that card is: Wyatt, Orton, Ambrose, Corbin, Miz. And then you'd have a midcard where Mojo, Kalisto, Ziggler, and Crews feud for eternity because there's literally no one else unless you split up a couple tag teams (which they probably should do). Basically, without multiple additions to the roster, you're setting up Smackdown for failure. And I'm starting to think that's where Monday Night Raw is heading with the Steph storyline. In kayfabe, it's kind of a mess, but there is a potential end goal where Raw signs AJ and multiple under-utilized stars go to Smackdown. Sami Zayn is certainly the primary candidate. Raw has a stacked upper card above Zayn, and there is a relatively coherent story being told about Zayn's issues with Steph. Zayn could be a big asset for Smackdown. But if you're giving up the best wrestler in the world, you need more than Zayn, as great as he is. And so I wonder if they're starting toward a similar storyline with Cesaro and maybe Sheamus. They've been quite good as a tag team, but I'd like them even more going over to Smackdown and being occasional hard-hitting allies but mostly just brute-force singles starts. Maybe it's the fantasy-booking-mark inside of me, but I salivate at the thought of what Smackdown could do with Cesaro and Zayn in finally giving them both an upper-card shot. Sheamus is a nice piece as well, but he's long been a guy established as being capable of fighting at or near the main event, whereas the other two have not quite had that shot.

#WWE #Wrestling

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junker-town · 6 years

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We ranked all 24 games in the Warriors-Cavaliers rivalry

This great rivalry has featured so many instant classics that are easy to forget.

On Christmas Day, the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Golden State Warriors meet for the 25th time since LeBron James went home and since the Warriors emerged as one of the league’s greatest dynasties (3 p.m., ABC, WatchESPN).

This may be the league’s best rivalry, with the biggest stakes, since at least the 1980s. There has never been three consecutive Finals matchups between two teams, after all.

There have been blowouts and boring basketball, make no mistake about that. But any moment where LeBron and Draymond Green share the court is interesting, no matter the score. At its best, this series has left us with iconic NBA moments that will be remembered for decades and spoken about with reverence.

In that spirit, I ranked all 24 games that the two teams have played since they ascended to the top of the NBA in 2014.

FORGETTABLE REGULAR-SEASON GAMES

24. Warriors beat Cavaliers, 112-94 (Jan. 9, 2015)

23. Warriors beat Cavaliers, 126-91 (Jan. 16, 2017)

22. Warriors beat Cavaliers, 132-98 (Jan. 18, 2016)

21. Cavaliers beat Warriors, 110-99 (Feb. 26, 2015)

There’s a theme here — after Christmas, and before the postseason, the Warriors and the Cavaliers games end up becoming uninteresting blowouts. Of these four, the closest margin is on Jan. 9, 2015, where LeBron James didn’t even play while taking his mid-season sabbatical.

No. 22 did lead to the Cavaliers’ shocking decision to fire David Blatt, though. It also featured this.

THE TIMOFEY MOZGOV GAME

20. Warriors beat Cavaliers, 103-82 (2015 Finals Game 4)

Golden State allowed Timofey Mozgov to score a game-high 28 points in a real life NBA Finals game, and it’s still a miracle that the basketball gods didn’t immediately cast the Warriors into eternal basketball damnation. It’s an offense to the sport that’s almost unforgivable. Timofey Mozgov, really!

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On second thought, maybe this game should be a dozen spots higher for the sheer absurdity alone.

THREE 2017 BLOWOUTS

19. Warriors beat Cavaliers, 113-91 (2017 Finals Game 1)

18. Warriors beat Cavaliers, 132-113 (2017 Finals Game 2)

17. Cavaliers beat Warriors, 137-116 (2017 Finals Game 4)

The first two games of the 2017 Finals were a buzzkill. Sure, Cleveland wasn’t done after falling behind 2-0, but we all knew this series wouldn’t be competitive after that. It ended up being great, but it wasn’t competitive.

How can it be great but not competitive? Take Game 4, one of the most ridiculous 48-minute displays of the sport that I’ve ever seen. I wanted to rank it higher, but it really wasn’t a good game, just a ridiculous one. Draymond Green was kicked out, and then unkicked out. Jeff Van Gundy rattled off Kardashian hot takes. Cleveland, meanwhile, scored 137 points while hitting 24 three-pointers. After the game, I described it like this:

But we’ll appreciate this game, because it was just ... dumb. And there are degrees to dumbness, and this was at the very top of it. The fouls made no sense. The technicals didn’t go to the right people. The players wouldn’t stop making ridiculous shots. It wasn’t basketball at its finest — more like, it was basketball with four drinks on a Friday night when everyone is your friend, the music is just right, and all you want is to dance a little at your table because you know the nachos are coming out at any moment now.

Yeah, that’s about right.

THE 3-1 LEAD

16. Warriors beat Cavaliers, 104-89 (2016 Finals Game 1)

15. Warriors beat Cavaliers, 110-77 (2016 Finals Game 2)

14. Cavaliers beat Warriors, 120-90 (2016 Finals Game 3)

13. Warriors beat Cavaliers, 108-97 (2016 Finals Game 4)

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These are historic, even if two games were decided by 30 or more points. Game 1 was close, and Games 2 and 3 were dominant performances — once for Golden State, once for Cleveland. Game 4 gave us the infamous Draymond Green nut-tap delivered straight to James’ LeBrons. Even if the games themselves lacked the usual heightened drama, all of this built Golden State’s even more infamous 3-1 lead.

(My favorite under-the-radar thing about that scuffle is Harrison Barnes shooting a practice jump shot right smack in the middle of James and Green screaming at each other, even while the referees and teammates are making sure they don’t charge each other. It’s the most Harrison Barnes thing of all time.)

THREE INCREDIBLE GAMES WE FORGOT ABOUT

12. Warriors beat Cavaliers, 105-97 (2015 Finals Game 6)

11. Warriors beat Cavaliers, 89-83 (Dec. 25, 2015)

10. Cavaliers beat Warriors, 96-91 (2015 Finals Game 3)

2015’s Game 6 was a close game, but it never felt like it. Cleveland’s rotation was abysmal: James and J.R. Smith, and then Mozgov, Tristan Thompson, Iman Shumpert, Matthew Dellavedova, and James Jones. (Thompson played 37 minutes and Mozgov played 33, and now I feel nauseous.)

That’s also why Game 3 is listed so high — because Cleveland had no business winning it, but James had 40 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists. It also resulted in this headline, which still feels like some sort of cosmic joke.

As for the Christmas matchup, it was a low key great game that we never talk about. But it gets overshadowed by another Christmas game, which ... hang on. We’re almost there.

THE STEPH CURRY MOUTHPIECE TOSS

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9. Cavaliers beat Warriors, 115-101 (2016 Finals Game 6)

James scored 41 points (with 11 assists!) for a second straight game as Cleveland forced a Game 7.

But we don’t need to talk about this. We need to talk about how Stephen Curry, who had spent two full MVP seasons in the spotlight polishing his good guy reputation, getting ejected from the first time in his career after throwing a mouthpiece that hit the son of a Cavaliers minority owner.

Look, I hope we can all appreciate the humor in that — maybe even Curry, now that he’s a couple years removed from it all.

THE J.R. SMITH GAME

8. Warriors beat Cavaliers, 129-120 (2017 Finals Game 5)

This clinched Golden State’s second title, but I will always remember it as the J.R. Smith game. It doesn’t matter that James dropped 41 while Durant and Curry combined for 73 points — Smith flat out refused to miss. He ended up with 25 points on 9-of-11 shooting, and 7-of-8 behind the arc. It was the only thing that made this game remotely entertaining.

(At least to me, an impartial observer and not a Warriors fan. I’m sure Warriors fans found many things about this game entertaining.)

THE ONLY OVERTIMES

7. Warriors beat Cavaliers, 108-100 (2015 Finals Game 1)

6. Cavaliers beat Warriors, 95-93 (2015 Finals Game 2)

Weirdly enough, these two bitter rivals have only reached overtime twice, both in the opening two games of the 2015 Finals. James missed a potential game-winner in Game 1, and then Irving was injured three minutes into the extra period.

Given that James proceeded to win two games without Irving, and a rotation demanding heavy minutes from the Dellavedovas and James Joneses of the world, who knows what might have happened if that Game 1 jumper had fallen.

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Hilariously, Dellavedova’s free throws after an offensive rebound win Cleveland Game 2, although it was set up by an otherworldly James performance.

THE LEBRON-KYRIE EXPLOSION

5. Cavaliers beat Warriors, 112-97 (2016 Finals Game 5)

Ah, this is where you should go if you ever miss the Irving-James pairing. They both scored 41 points, the first time that a duo has ever scored 40-plus in the same NBA Finals game.

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THE MOST UNDERRATED ONE

4. Warriors beat Cavaliers, 105-91 (2015 Finals Game 5)

The final score makes it seem like this game wasn’t close, but it was. In fact, with about seven minutes left, Cleveland actually led, and they were within a bucket several times under the five minute mark until Golden State’s shooting finally buckles the injury-ravaged Cleveland squad. The series was tied at two, and it really could have swung either way depending on the results here.

This was also Curry’s best-ever playoff game, as far as I’m concerned.

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INDISPUTABLE, ALL-TIME CLASSICS

3. Warriors beat Cavaliers, 118-113 (2017 Finals Game 3)

2. Cavaliers beat Warriors, 109-108 (Dec. 25, 2016)

1. Cavaliers beat Warriors, 93-89 (2016 Finals Game 7)

Kevin Durant will likely never hit a shot more memorable than his Game 3 pull-up three-pointer. That shot, and Game 3, ended the series. We loved Game 4’s ridiculousness and Game 5’s J.R. Smith, but when you look back on the series, Game 3 is the only one that feels important.

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It’s strange to put a regular-season game second, but it has to go there. Remember everything that went into this game: The blown 3-1 lead, Cleveland’s first championship, Kevin Durant signing in Golden State, and then the general sense that the NBA had stopped mattering since the Warriors would coast to a Finals victory.

Sure, yes, the Warriors did. But not before we all witnessed what might have been the greatest regular season ever, one that may only be topped by this current regular season. This Christmas Day game was an enormous part of reshaping everyone’s perception — sure, even if the Warriors are better than everyone, this season will still be stupidly fun. And what was more fun than the Cavaliers roaring back to defeat Golden State in the league’s marquee holiday slot?

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And then there’s Game 7, which doesn’t require more words, just this video.

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I don’t think we’ll ever top this ... but with this rivalry, who knows?

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