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Kyrie To Boston

Kyrie is out! Danny Ainge finally pulled the trigger and used his assets for a young star. The Celtics turned their back on Isaiah Thomas and and traded with their Eastern Conference threat. Wow. There is a lot to get to.

First off, Kyrie wanted out and he got what he wanted. I would have enjoyed it thoroughly if they would have traded Kyrie to a terrible team, where there was no chance of contention. Yet, Kyrie was put in a great situation on another good team with a chance to succeed. There were many scenarios that could have played out much worse for Kyrie, but he has to be happy to be traded to the Celtics. They are well ran, with a great coach and a bright future. Kyrie wanted an opportunity to be the Alpha, now he has an opportunity. This year they will have more talent, but I expect their chemistry to be awful.

Kyrie is going to want to come in and prove something and play like Russell Westbrook. The Celtics chemistry is about to be disrupted and the Celtics will be worse off than they were last year, despite their talent and the addition of Gordon Hayward. Because the East is as frail as Venezuela’s currency they will make it to the Eastern Conference Finals, but no further. I project that Kyrie doesn’t have the leadership ability to produce the chemistry it takes to lead a team to the finals.

The NBA is a cold frigid business. Isaiah Thomas was a fan favorite, played out of his mind, while grieving for his sister, and played injured for the Celtics. He gave them everything they could ask for plus some and at first chance they shipped him off. I think that the chip will help Isaiah Thomas, but as Don Corleone said, “This is the business we have chosen”, and I don’t feel bad for anyone.

Also, Ainge finally cashed in his chips. Does he believe this is the right move, or did criticism influence his hand. He has taken heat for piling up assets and never using them. The Cavs did well considering the whole league knew they had to deal Kyrie. The Celtics made a mistake and should have been more patient. I also didn’t expect the two teams in the Eastern Conference Championship to deal with one another.

The NBA’s offseason has been mesmerizing for some time. Kevin Durant joining the Warriors, Kyrie Irving bailing out on LeBron, and the rampant and yet-to-be-denied rumor that LeBron is divorcing Cleveland next summer. Next year should be great. The Cavs vs the Celtics will be fun and another Cavs/Warriors final will be great. I love the NBA offseason.

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Marshawn Lynch

Marshawn Lynch knelt during the National Anthem in the Raiders first preseason game. This was Jack Del Rio’s conversation with Lynch about this.

“[Marshawn Lynch] said, “This is something I’ve done for 11 years- it’s not a form of anything other than me being myself.” Del Rio responded, “So you understand how I feel, I very strongly believe in standing for the national anthem, but I’m gonna respect you as a man. You do your thing, OK, and we’ll do ours.”

People get far too upset, so I’m not calling for outrage. But, I think it is far worse to sit during the Anthem because you are too lazy, or can’t be bothered, than to sit without reason. This is a good litmus test to drill down people’s true reasons for hating Kaepernick. Those that are outraged, why are they outraged? Are they outraged because Kaepernick didn’t stand for the Anthem, or the reason why he didn’t stand? Those that were outraged, because he wasn’t showing proper respect to the troops, should have the same level of outrage, for Lynch who sits without reason.

If the real reason people are upset over Kaepernick is because of his political position, which is what I think it is, this will blow over without much fanfare. There is much doubt on whether Lynch has sat down for 11 years during his career, but nonetheless. I find Lynch’s dismissal of the anthem without reason, worse than Kaepernick’s reason for black social justice.

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Where Olynyk’s Style Came From


Celtic’s game 5 is tomorrow and we get to see Olynyk.  Where does he get off with that hair and that head band.  I agree that the hair band is better than the man bun, which is an oxy moron, but either one is a winner.  It just hit me on Sunday watching the Celtics play that he would look more comfortable on a platform in the background of a Cher or Suzanne Somer’s workout video in the 80’s.  He would fit in perfectly there, on a basketball floor, he just keeps looking ridiculous.

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Clippers Get Trashed!

Hayward's hair is explained.
The Utah Jazz just sent the Clippers home in the first round of the NBA Playoffs.  How?  The Clippers on paper seem to have a big three:  Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, and Deandre Jordan.  Each are arguably one of the best 3 guys at their position in the whole league.  How they managed to lose in the first round to Gordon Hayward and an aging Joe Johnson still baffles me.  They should be competing for titles, but instead they are dumpster diving, yet again.

So should the Clippers break their nucleus and start over?  The truth is the Clippers don’t have an option.  Both Chris Paul and Blake Griffin  have player options and can return if they want to.  The Clippers themselves may not have a choice.  But aside from that, I think they should keep their core together and at least be good.

I understand that everyone wants to think they are striving to put together a championship team, but only one team wins.  Being a Jazz fan, they never won a championship, but 18 years of being really good was still a ton of fun.  Blowing up the Clippers and starting over sounds good, but in reality they will be mediocre bottom feeders.  The Clippers are putting together fifty win seasons and because of injuries haven’t had that many great chances.  The choice between winning 50+ games with an outside shot of making the Western Conference Finals, sounds a lot better, than 5-6 years of trying to rebuild and sign a Chris Paul and Blake Griffin type player.  Also, don’t forget one big fact:

The Clippers are the Clippers

If you think you are going to rebuild this team into a winning team think again.  This is by far and away the most success they have ever had and I doubt they get back to this level anytime soon.  You have the Donald Sterling curse, karma, plus your owner is a bafoon who couldn’t even realize the iPhone was going to be a success.  Stick it out and until you only win 40 games a year, enjoy them as long as you can.

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Justice League


Batman, Wonder Woman, Cyborg, Flash, Aquaman
The Justice League Trailer hit the internet and expectations for DC’s new blockbuster were set. It’s a great trailer and I am all in on seeing this movie. I am married with four kids, so I only see about 4-5 movies a year: my birthday, Valentines, anniversary, and 1 or 2 movies with the kids. So, the fact that this movie is in the top 5 movies this year says something. Maybe not too much, because, without a trailer I was going to go to this movie either way.  I am all in on Batman, whether, it is the Gold Standard (Dark Knight Series) or even the bad ones (Clooney, and Kilmer).  The trailer introduced the characters, showed you some action, made you laugh, and we didn’t have to see Superman.

My first takeaway, they nailed Aquaman. I am not familiar with Aquaman, besides snippets of the Justice League cartoon my son watches. He is like Thor in the Avengers, not afraid of a good fight, light hearted, and likes to drink.  Previously, Aquaman had never appealed to me.  After this trailer, you might as well sign me up to purchase his standalone movie as well.

Batman takes center stage as the architect of the Justice League.  His toys are incredible and his Batmobile wrecks havoc.  There is a scene where he is fighting an alien robot and he takes him out by grapple hooking into the robot pummeling it. This reminds me of his move in the video game Injustice, which is a nice easter egg.  The fighting seems a lit bit more superheroish, than the Dark Knight movies, that were more realistic.  Bruce Wayne himself actually answers the questions of whether or not he is a superhero, which is my favorite line in the trailer.  

There is no Superman to be seen.  I didn’t realize this until after the trailer was over.  They do show a picture of Lois Lane, but other than that nothing about Superman. Surprisingly, Doomsday killed him for longer than a couple of days, but I know it won’t be forever.  I am sure though, that he wouldn’t have died, but Batman had thrown him around and beat him like the lesser overhyped meathead that he is before his sacrificial death.

The villain?  I have no idea.   The truth of the matter is that I am not familiar with any Justice League villains, besides Lex Luthor and The Joker.  Who is a big enough force to need the entire Justice League?  Stereotypically, it will be an alien race with some all-powerful creature.  This will be good enough, as long as there are plenty of henchmen for them to tear through, and an actual Villain with form.  If we get another cosmic force like in the Green Lantern, I wil boycott DC movies.  Loki, was a great villain in the Avenger’s movie, I hope DC delivers.  A good movie can go to great with a good character villain.

Lastly, it seems that this movie is breaking away from the darker themes.  This seems much more like a Marvel movie.  They have injected humor into the diaglogue, which seemed more absent from the previous movies.  The overall themes may be darker, but it seems to be a replica of the Avenger movie.  Which is fantastic, because I love the Avenger’s movies.  I Can’t wait for this movie, besides when Superman will surely show up in the end and like a Captain Planet episode save the day.