With the NBA season almost 60 days away, its time to break down the top 5 players in the league. I will do my best to keep my fandom out of these rankings, but no promises. Enjoy- CC 1: Lebron JamesAs much as I hate, and I mean ABSOLUTELY HATE, putting Lebron #1, it seems pretty clear after this last finals, where he dropped 29.7 Ppg, 11.3 Rpg, and 8.9 Apg which is strait up BONKERS. Don't get me wrong, he's no MJ and never will be (4-3 v. 6-0 shows there is no comparison) but when he turns it on he is almost unstoppable. While I think GSW loss was more due to the fact the team lost momentum and Bron bitching about the Draymond nut punch, but that team without Lebron is not coming back 3-1. He is 31 and is turning 32 this year, so while still in his prime he's reaching the back of it. He has been playing since he was 18, and has played in the playoffs for all of those seasons, relatively deep in most of them. He hasn't stopped playing basketball before June since 2010. I hope this pick is wrong at #1, I can't in good conscience put anyone else at #1. 2: Stephen "Gawd" CurryByke to Byke MVP. The best player on a 73-9 team. The greatest shooter of all time. If not for an early injury in the playoffs, would be a back to back NBA champion, and would be number one with a bullet. I wish, but if wishes were fishes the world would be an ocean. I could list off the stats of what made his last season so good (30 ppg, 402 3's shattering the last record by over 100, which he also set himself, and a 50, 45, 90 mark shooting) but we are all aware of his greatness. I am way more interested to see how this will playout with the "Super Death Lineup" with steph/klay/KD/Dray/ Zaza or Javale. While he may not be #1 on this list, he is easily the most fun person to watch play in the NBA. 3. Kevin DurantKD is a Warrior. I repeat, Kevin Durant is a Warrior. Along with having some of the GOAT tweets from 2009-2011, KD is one of the most lethal scorers to hit the NBA in years. 6-9 but really 6-11 small forward who can drop 30 like its nothing. Unstoppable, unguardable, and finally will have a PG who doesn't play hero ball. The possibilities with a team that actually knows how to share the ball is scary for the rest of the NBA. I'm hyped. 4: Russell WestbrookWestbrook doesn't give a fuck about your superteam. He doesn't care about being friends with the other stars in the league. He cares about going out every night, playing with an INSANE motor, and terrorizing opposing point guards on both ends of the court. Without KD on the same team as him to slow down the amount of shots he could take. I wouldn't be shocked if Russ takes 40 shots a game, while still averaging around a triple double. The anger he will play with will be ferocious and without mercy. 5: Paul GeorgeThere is a HUGE drop off from 4 to 5 here, and many guys could have fit in here. I'm going with George because I'm hedging my bets that PG becomes a breakout star in 2017 and the league is shaping up to give him his opportunity to do so. The east has no other formidable small forwards outside of LBJ and maybe Mello, but Mello is far past the wrong side of 30. PG game has only gotten better every year and without a crazy summer injury like his 2014 one, the sky is the limit for him to go from being a star to being truly elite. Honorable MentionsKawhi Leonard, James Harden, Karl Anthony-Towns, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, Chris Paul, Kyrie Irving
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The Cincinnati Zoo has asked the internet to stop making meme's about their slain Gorilla Harambe the magnificent. He was murder in cold blood just over two months ago, and if they think the internet is going to stop investigating this conspiracy they have another thing coming. We don't know how deep this truly goes. For now, I am going to leave you with some of our favorite Harambe meme's here at nativebaydestrian. Enjoy - CC
GOLD GOLD GOLD GOLD GOLDThese Olympics have been a real hard time for Donald Trump, and his claim that he wants to "Make America Great Again", because after our performance in the games there can be no question of the dominance we rain down on the rest of the world. The final USA medal count is 46 Gold, 37 Silver, 38 Bronze coming out for a total of 121 medals. The second in medals, China came in with 70 followed by Great Britain at 67, which further proves that no one is in our league athlete wise. The games were capped off Sunday with the once thought inevitable, at one point questioned, but inevitable dominant victory in the Men's and Women's Basketball Tournament, 96-66 and 101-72. Even though I questioned some of coach K's rotations (What the fuck was up with not playing Draymond?!?) the talent of the team was way to great for Serbia to keep up with them in the Final. Those two final games were a good representation of the excellence with which the american's have competed with and the positive light they represented the USA with (save Ryan Lochte's dumbass. Who the fuck lies about getting robbed). I will talk about a couple of stand outs for the united states team. While I enjoyed the games, I am sure we can all agree we're ready for Football to be truly back. Stand Out'sSimone BilesBiles came out and absolutely destroyed the competition, going 4 Golds and 1 Bronze. She was a HUGE part of the women's team smacking the rest of the world and set new highs in difficulties while still executing all of her routines with almost robot like precision. She was the flag carrier for the closing ceremonies, and I cannot think of anyone more deserving. Simone ManuelIt was certainly a good year to be named Simone, as Simone Manuel became the first ever female African- American to win Gold in an individual event, winning Gold in the 100m Freestyle. This is big for the sport of swimming, which has been primarily dominated by Caucasians. Representation is important, and this could lead to a more diverse group taking an interest in swimming, creating better competition down the road. Michael PhelpsUhh ya think? No Duh! (S/o big cat and pft). Everyone saw this coming, but Phelps dominance since 2004 is unrivaled by any other athlete save one (Phelps v Bolt), and 2016 was no exception. Phelps finished off these Olympics with 5 Golds and 1 Silver, leaving him with and ASTOUNDING 23 Golds, and 28 total medals. At this point the guy probably uses Gold medal's as coasters. He says he is retiring as of this Olympics, but I would not be shocked to see him in 2020 in Tokyo. Ashton EatonThis might be more impressive than any of the other Olympians, this man followed up his 2012 Gold in the decathlon, the event that determines the true greatest athlete on Earth, by setting and Olympic record and REPEATING as the Gold medal winner. Salute to him and thank you to all our Olympians, for once again proving Donald Trump wrong that we don't need to Make America Great Again, because we never stopped being great. Oh and by the way donald... -CC
My name is "Action" Jackson....and I'm addicted to fantasy football. There. I said it. The idea of building my own football team is something I've wanted since I was a kid, and now it's an annual tradition amongst my circle of friends. With the return of the NFL season (glory to God), we can all get back to our real passion: fantasy football and beating Eric from down the hall. For those that don't know, fantasy football is an online system that allows any fan to set up their own leagues with their friends (approximately 10 to make up a good league), and in those leagues, each person creates their very own custom team from a fantasy draft of current NFL players. Like the graphic above, some teams would feature impossible team-ups, like a Bo Jackson, Marcus Allen, and Darren McFadden backfield. Custom teams play one another each week, and gain points based on the performance of their players, and the team with the most points wins. Over the course of the season, team owners can pick and choose what players are on their teams based on the performance of each athlete. With the fantasy season on the horizon, many are wondering: "Who should I pick first?" "Do I need a kicker?" "Will my friend Max pick the Seahawks defense just because, or will they actually be good this year?" "Who will Chip Kelly cut this season?" I'm here to offer my top 3 insights to help you win your fantasy league this season. The reliable running back is your best friendForget what every media outlet is telling you: the running back is not extinct, nor is it any less valuable to the team than the passing game. Any coach or coordinator will tell you that you run the ball to set up the pass, and you pass the ball to open up your run. The NFL may be infatuated with shotgun offenses and the passer numbers are increasing, but that's not because the run game is less effective. It's because defenders are less capable of open field tackles, and offenses know this. They pass more often because it's easier to move the ball that way. However, teams like the Los Angles Rams, Minnesota Vikings, and Dallas Cowboys are built to do one thing and one thing only: grind. Run the ball, make the opponent get tired, and get yards late in the game. All three of those teams have a workhorse carrying the ball for them, and those players are projected to be the top picks in fantasy drafts across the nation. Todd Gurley (LA), Adrian Peterson (MI), and Ezekiel Elliot (DAL) will likely be the first three players taken. I hear you way in the back, friend: "I pick 5th overall! Which running back should I take if those three will be gone?" My answer: the starting running back for the Pittsburgh Steelers, whether it's LeVeon Bell or DeAngelo Williams, would be an excellent and safe pick. Bell is easily the best running back not named Adrian Peterson. He is both a gifted runner between the tackles and a talented receiver out of the backfield, and he plays in a very pass happy offense. The sole downside: he likes marijuana, and the NFL knows this. As of today, Bell is suspended for the first 3 games of the season, making his backup DeAngelo Williams a smart pick. When Bell was hurt last season, Williams toted the rock for Pittsburgh, rushing for over 900 yards in only 10 starts. That's serious production, especially when playing in the always tough AFC North division. My point: running backs are crucial. They aren't going anywhere, and they are essential to your fantasy team winning games, especially late in the year when teams tend to run the ball more as the weather gets colder. Draft wisely. Be patient with the quarterbacks, for your own sakeI know exactly what you're thinking: "Cam Newton's the MVP! He should be my number 1 pick!" And my response: Nice try. That's cute. But despite what you and Mr. Newton may think, he can't do it all by himself. Super Bowl 50 showed us this. The quarterback is only as good as his supporting cast. Aaron Rodgers found that out the hard way last season. As sensationally talented the former Cal Bear and current Green Bay Packer is, losing star receiver Jordy Nelson for the entire 2015 season hurt not only Rodgers' numbers, but his team's ability to pass the ball and thus win games. I say this to tell you to not pick quarterbacks high in your fantasy drafts. Get skill players first (WRs, RBs, TEs). They score the touchdowns. They do the cool dances. There's also a lot more of them. Of the 32 NFL teams, there are approximately 20 quarterbacks that I would consider "good", or capable of helping his team win a game, with 11 of them being considered "elite", or irreplaceable on their team. That's 11 players that need someone else's help to score a point versus 100+ players who can score from anywhere on the field and could positively affect your team's chances of winning. I'm not a math major, but it seems kind of hard justifying drafting someone that high when he needs a lot of help to even win you games. Don't get me wrong; a quarterback is the most important position on the field. He is the field general. But he is human, and he needs help. Without an A.J. Green to throw to every other play, who is Andy Dalton, really? Yes, Russell Wilson breaks the mold as the very short and very athletic quarterback we all know and love, but would he have been Russell Wilson without the Legion of Boom on his defense and Beast Mode toting the ball and moving the chains? Yes, Tom Brady is arguably the greatest pure passing quarterback to ever breathe oxygen, but when he started out, he was a 6th round draft pick who barely started and had to utilize the run game and defenses to win close games. He didn't have Wes Welker, or Randy Moss, or Gronk. He had a good defense and running game. My point? Have a supporting cast drafted and ready to play before you use that #3 overall pick on Cam Newton. I guarantee he'll be there when you pick again at #12. Maybe #21. But he definitely won't be there by pick #126. Draft wisely. Defense wins championships. Look at the numbersIt's an old coaching adage, but it's supported by fact: offense sell tickets in October, but defense wins championships in February. Super Bowl 50? The top offense played the top defense. The defense won, and won handily. Super Bowl XLVIII? Top offense vs top defense. Result? Defense hoists the Lombardi. Super Bowl XLII, when the 16-0 Patriots played the 9-7 Giants? Guess who won? The Giants. Guess who had the better defense? The 9-7 underdogs who no one thought had a chance. Defense, defense, defense. More often than not, the superior defensive teams will win the tight games, especially games in the cold in December and January when the game matters most (Playoffs).
For your fantasy team, this adage applies. Get a good defense or two to play all season long, and your team will pick up points and win some close games. Seattle Seahawks, Carolina Panthers, and Arizona Cardinals are three excellent defenses that I would recommend picking up as soon as they are available. All three have premier defenders on their roster, and all three force turnovers and sack quarterbacks at will, gaining you and your team valuable points. Some smart sleeper picks include the Oakland Raiders, Minnesota Vikings, and Cincinnati Bengals. These latter three are talented defenses, but were flawed last season. They should improve this year, and if you don't pick them, your buddy George will, and George's team might just beat your team in a couple weeks thanks to a few extra points. My point? Your team is only as good as the weakest part. Don't let your weak part be your defense. It's very important to fantasy success. If you think playing the Dolphins defense every week will help you win games, you live in another world where it's 1972 every season and Don Shula is prowling the sidelines once again. All seriousness, not everyone will be able to have Seattle's defense, but you can be smart and pick an up and coming one like Minnesota's and still be competitive every week. Draft wisely. These are my fantasy football tips; good luck to you all! Connect with me on Twitter: @mrjackson__ --JAJ The big question on everyones mind, who is the greater olympian: Bolt or Phelps. If you go off of pure medal count, of course phelps is the clear choice, but it goes way deeper than that. One must consider the amount of events that both competed in, the importance of race, and the importance of the olympian to the country. Swimming of course lends itself to a way larger amount of events, but Phelps has medaled in 28 out of 30 events with 23 out of those 28 being Gold. That is astounding in itself, the total and complete dominance since the year 2004 Phelps has had in the world of swimming is unmatched. Bolt, on the other hand has only ran in 7 races. The difference is between the two is Bolt has never not gotten Gold in an olympic race. Undefeated. If there were more sprinting races in the olympics, there is no doubt in my mind that he would have dominated every single one of those races. While Phelps obviously has more Golds and medals, I'm here looking at percent and I have to give Bolt the edge. The importance of the races on global scale is a hard to measure, but the title of Fastest man on earth has meant something throughout history, leaders of communities were chosen by the best athlete. Swimming on the other hand, is a bit less prevalent once again, I have to give the edge to Bolt. The importance of the olympian by country goes to Bolt by a mile, we don't think about Phelps save every four years, where as Bolt is revered year round every year. To be fair, the difference in the amount of sports and our reverence for those athletes in the United States is diffent. We equate the worlds best athlete on how well he would do in other sports, which is why there have been thousands of blogs written on how well Bolt would do as a wideout or Lebron as a tight end. While the cult of sport is much larger in the United States, we just can't seem to get it up for swimming. With all of this i conclude that Usain Bolt is the greater Olympian. Think I'm wrong? Let me know how and why. -CC |
Liam Conley
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November 2017
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