Spurs and Raptors Swap Kawhi and DeRozan: Winners and Losers

Kawhi Leonard DeRozan trade

How dirty is it that the Raptors just met with DeMar DeRozan at NBA Summer League in Vegas and told him he would not be traded? This is exactly why fans should have NO PROBLEM with players showing no loyalty; owners show none. It’s always business, never personal, unless you are deporting your disgruntled superstar to Canada.

We all thought the rumors were crazy that Kawhi Leonard would be traded to the Raptors. We were wrong.

The most ironic part of this trade is that news broke about Kawhi Leonard and the Raptors in the middle of the night and most people didn’t hear about it until they woke up. Kawhi Leonard is easily the most silent superstar the NBA has ever seen. And the Toronto Raptors are relevant during business hours. Nobody is being woken up out of their sleep to 10-15 texts with breaking news about Kawhi or the Raptors. This trade impacts the Lakers, Clippers, 76ers, Spurs, and Raptors.

Alas, we are here and there are clear-cut winners and losers of this trade.

WINNERS

Spurs/Popovich

The San Antonio Spurs managed to trade an unhappy superstar out of the western conference to a place he didn’t want to go and got a real asset back. Everybody except me thought a deal would happen with one of the LA teams (neither team was going to pay the king’s ransom the Spurs wanted for him). DeRozan < Kawhi, but he’s a real player, and could flourish under Popovich’s tutelage. There’s also great news for Greg Popovich himself. He doesn’t have to spend his final years coaching in rebuild mode.

Lakers young players (Kuzma, Ball, Hart, Ingram)

The Lakers young players are relieved they won’t be traded, at least not yet. Rumors had been circling for months about the Lakers and Spurs doing a deal for Kawhi with some combination of Kuzma, Ball, Hart, Ingram, and draft picks. Now Lonzo Ball can stop faking like his knee is hurt and get back out in public working out.

Raptors

The Raptors instantly got better and got an opportunity. Last year they won 59 games and got swept by LeBron in the second round of the playoffs. Now the Raptors have two options. They can either roll the dice and see if they can make it to the NBA Finals with Kawhi and hope they can convince him to resign long term. Or, they can wait the 60 days and try to get the Lakers or Clippers to give up draft picks and assets for Kawhi. Either way, the Raptors won in the short term but lost in the long term.

Lakers/Clippers

Both the Lakers and Clippers got a win in the trade. Both teams are reportedly on the list of desirable locations for Kawhi Leonard. Both teams had discussions with the Spurs about acquiring Kawhi, but the asking price was far too steep. Either team would have had to part with significant draft picks and players to get a deal done with the Spurs. With Kawhi is in the East with the Raptors, the asking price for Kawhi via trade will fall dramatically. Now, the question is will either the Lakers or Clippers pull the trigger on a trade, or will they gamble and wait till the offseason to hopefully sign Kawhi?

LOSERS

DeMar DeRozan

No more All-Star games and he has to Play LeBron in the playoffs again! OUCH! DeMar has been All-NBA 2x and is a 4x All-Star. Making the NBA All-Star team in the Western Conference was already a tough task before LeBron joined the Lakers. Every year named brand top players are left off the All-Star roster. It is much easier to make the All-Star team in the Eastern Conference. Unless Greg Popovich can get DeMar DeRozan to play like Kawhi Leonard, DeMar has made his last All-Star team.

Philadelphia 76ers

The Philadelphia 76ers were holding out hope they could get LeBron or Kawhi Leonard in this offseason. Now that the Raptors own the rights to Kawhi Leonard there is no chance in hell they will trade him in-conference to the 76ers. They would essentially be giving Philly a “Big 3” and creating in the same situation they were in with LeBron in the East; a team they have no chance of beating in the playoffs for 10 years.

Toronto Raptors

The Raptors still have Kyle Lowry. Kyle Lowry is a solid player to have on your team if he’s not making over $30M and your second best player. You can’t get to the NBA Finals or win a championship with him as your #2. If the Raptors could have traded Lowry’s anchor of a contract instead of DeRozan, they would have.

The biggest piece of bad news is that reports have surfaced that Kawhi has no interest in playing in Toronto. But, I guess Raptors fans can look at the bright side. The team won’t have to pay a luxury tax bill and will have plenty of money for big name free agents in 2019 who won’t sign there next offseason.

 

 

Can Bryce Harper Save Major League Baseball?

Last night, Bryce Harper defeated Kyle Schwarber with a few seconds to spare in the final round of the Home Run Derby. The atmosphere in Washington D.C. was electric as Harper became the 3rd player ever to win the Derby in his home ballpark. The whole contest was fun to watch as guys like Harper, Schwarber, and Rhys Hoskins were hitting 400-foot bombs on a consistent basis. Overall, it was a fun night for baseball.

Last night reminded me of a common misconception that seems to be brought up every year. “Baseball is dead.” No, baseball is not dead. In fact, the MLB just set a record for revenue in 2017, surpassing the $10 billion milestone for the first time. Paid attendance is still hovering around $73 million, which is a decrease from previous years, but still a solid number. To his credit, Commissioner Rob Manfred is trying to appeal to the younger generation. Manfred wants to speed the game up by implementing a set number of mound visits and shorter time between innings. In hindsight, I’m all for speeding the game up, but at the end of the day, it’s baseball, not basketball or football. Games are still going to go over three hours. If the action on the field is exciting, the time won’t matter.

Although it’s not dead,  baseball is struggling to connect with “millennials.” The average age of a baseball fan is 57. That is not good for a sport that desperately wants to get younger. Baseball fans know that the sport is in good hands with its young stars such as Harper, Aaron Judge, Mike Trout, and Kris Bryant. The problem lies in how to capitalize on these budding stars in order to reach a younger, more casual audience. In my opinion, this is where the MLB completely misses the mark.

The best player in the MLB is Mike Trout. What Trout is doing is historic. Trout is 26 years old with 2 MVP trophies and 6 (!!!) All-Star game starts including tonight’s game. However, if Mike Trout walks down the streets of New York City, how many people would recognize him? I’m being serious. Does the casual fan know what Mike Trout even looks like? Trout is the best player in the game and his jersey sales were not even in the top 7 last year. There are factors that have lead to Trout’s lack of star appeal. Baseball is typically a regional game, not national, so if Trout is not on ESPN or Fox, it will be hard for the casual fan to watch him play. His team, the Angels, have only been to the playoffs once with him in the league. Trout plays in LA so the time difference hinders the audience on the East Coast. Plus, Trout is very laid back and concentrates on baseball in the offseason instead of building up his public presence.

To bring this full circle, can Harper save baseball? Once again, baseball doesn’t need saving. It just needs to adjust it’s strategies when it comes to marketing its stars. If I’m the Commissioner, I’m showcasing stars like Harper, Judge, and Trout multiple times a month on national television no matter the records of their team. The NBA is star-driven meaning that the casual fan will watch LeBron James even though they may not know anyone else on the Cavs. The same needs to happen in baseball. Also, the MLB social’s media policy is arguably the worst of the major sports. Fans cannot post highlights or gifs from their own accounts without permission from the MLB. That’s baffling for a league that claims they want a younger audience, and yet enforce a strict policy on social media that is predominantly used by, you guessed it, young people.

Fans deserve to see the stars of baseball more often. It’s time for the MLB to make that happen.

POWER Season 5 episode 3: Six Biggest takeaways

POWER season 5 Episode 3 brought the action and gave us one extremely important question. In the 6 biggest takeaways from episode 2, I told y’all exactly what was on the horizon for Ghost, Dre, Rashad Tate, Tommy, and Keisha. Now, we recap episode 3 and look forward to episode 4 with the 6 biggest takeaways from episode 3, ” Are We On The Same Team?”

As usual, here’s the opening song so you can listen while reading.

1. Is Teresi double-crossing the feds or Tommy?

This is by far the most important question of season 5, so far. Considering that Teresi is a career criminal and didn’t snitch on the mafia, why would he double cross Tommy? I must applaud Tommy for being so suspicious of his dad’s motives. His suspicion is a sign of growth because there have been so many times Tommy has missed obvious betrayal right in front of his face. I believe the most likely outcome of Tommy and Teresi is that Teresi gets to see his wife before she dies, and helps Tommy out before he heads back to jail. But, then again, he might die saving Tommy’s life.

2. Dré ain’t a boss.

Everybody wanna be a boss, everybody ain’t a boss. Dre is only 10m into his 15m of power and fame and organization already falling apart. Cristobal got robbed, and Auturo had to kill his own men. They say it takes 10,000 hours to be an expert at things. Dré is trying to skip steps and make it to the top without doing the hard labor. It’s clear Kanan is right. Dré’s own men (2-bit and Spanky) will be his demise. I can’t wait to see how Ghost picks his shady little ass apart.

Dré used to be at the bottom of the totem pole when he was working for Ghost, so it’s unbelievable that he his missing the unhappiness of the people in his organization. But that’s what happens when people let newfound power go to their head.

3. Tasha and Angela step up

In one episode Tasha and Angela had shining moments. When Tasha told Kanan, “If you fuck with me, you better kill me nigga, because I swear to god, you best believe I will get you back.” I damn near fell down. That didn’t feel like a piece of acting, I swear Naturi Naughton has said that to somebody before in real life.

Angela found a new boo, stopped answering Ghost’s calls, shut Blanca’s investigation down, and figured out the Jiminez brother was really a sister in episode 3. I swear she did more positive things in this one episode than she did all of season 4 combined. If you take out the obstruction of justice she batted 1.000 for the episode.

4. Ghost vs Rashad Tate

I told y’all last week Ghost has to stand up for himself. He finally did. Tate is a typical crook politician, so there’s no way he’s gonna just stand by and let Ghost take power back. There’s no way Ghost complies with his outrageous demands and Tate is going to be pissed. I’m willing to bet that by seasons’ end Tate hops on the offensive and ends up trying to send Ghost to jail just to get rid of him.

5. Kanan is real pimpin’

This cat could sell ice in the winter or fire in hell. He is a hustler baby; he can sell water to a whale. Kanan gets in people’s heads and makes them believe whatever he’s selling. He got Dre to introduce him to Tariq. Then got Tariq to become a criminal and get high. Now, he’s turning Dre’s mans against him. Let’s not forget Kanan has done all this without getting killed. He could be a pimp. He’s a master at mind manipulation. The fact that everyone knows Kanan is a crook and he still can convince them he’s their best friend is an incredible skill. 

He’s down with Ghost and Tommy right now, but after Dre gets killed, Tommy and Ghost better watch their back. Kanan wants the money, corners, and power.

6. Hope for Tariq

OMG. Tariq finally did something right. I could not believe my eyes when Tariq finally told Tasha the truth about witnessing Ray Ray murder Raina. He started out the episode with his street smarts rating going from a negative 8 to a negative ten. Why can’t this kid tell the difference between a friend and an enemy? He kept lying to Ghost and Tasha about the circumstances surrounding Raina’s death. His parents are the very people who will do anything in their power to protect him.

This was a legit teachable moment for parents. Lying to your kids is not “protecting” them. It only teaches your kids to lie. We can tell our kids the “right’ things to do, but if we don’t model it, it doesn’t matter.

College Football: Big XII Coaching Power Rankings 2018

Lincoln Riley

Who is #1 in the Big XII Coaching Power Rankings?

Welcome to the Big XII, where offense thrives, and defenses die. If you like points, this is the conference for you. If you like defense, you might as well turn off the game because it’s rarely played with the exception of TCU. Because of this, it can be hard to determine how the Big XII stacks up against other conferences like the Big 10, Pac-12, ACC and SEC if one side of the ball is, for the most part, neglected. However, the top of the conference is loaded with teams like Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, and TCU who regularly compete for a spot in the College Football Playoff.

ICYMI:

Pac-12 Coaching Power Rankings

Big Ten Coaching Power Rankings

Can Lincoln Riley take the Sooners to its third playoff trip? Can Gary Patterson and Mike Gundy lead their teams to the promised land? Let’s take a look at the coaching power rankings for the Big XII.

10. Kansas – David Beaty

Without a doubt, the Big XII program that believes in their coach the most is Kansas. Am I crazy? No, and here’s why. Name one coach in America that can go 0-12 and 2-10 in back-to-back seasons and still earn a contract extension. I’ll name that coach for you. It’s David Beaty. All the credit in the world to this guy for keeping his job despite having a record of 3-33 (!!!) in three years. You can’t help but root for Coach Beaty. The only way to go is up so best of luck to Coach Beaty. Rock chalk!

9. Baylor – Matt Rhule

Matt Rhule is a brave man for taking the Baylor job. He inherited a toxic situation at the university and surrounding the football team in the wake of the allegations under Art Briles tenure as head coach. While Rhule deserves a long leash, he likely won’t get one. The Rhule won 10 games at Temple twice, which is remarkable in itself. The Baylor Bears fan base will be looking for that same success. They are accustomed to 10+ win seasons and won’t settle for excuses. Rhule must drastically improve on his 1-11 record in Waco. Otherwise, his seat temperature will go from cool to inferno very quickly.

8. Texas Tech – Kliff Kingsbury

Kliff Kingsbury’s tenure at Texas Tech can be described with one word: disappointing. He is 30-33 overall, and 6-12 in the Big XII over the last two seasons. But why hasn’t this worked? Kingsbury knows how to develop quarterbacks cc: Case Keenum, Baker Mayfield, Patrick Mahomes. The program loves Kingsbury because he was a legendary quarterback for the Red Raiders. Texas Tech lights up the scoreboard every week. Why is this not working again? Oh, that’s right. Texas Tech is allergic to defense. Two years ago, Kingsbury’s Red Raiders allowed a mind-blowing 554.3 yards per game, which was easily last in the Big XII. However, the defense made some strides last year, and “only” gave up 443 yards per game. The good news is will most of their starters for the upcoming season. If they can improve on the defensive side, even more, Texas Tech will be a dark horse to make the conference title game.

7. Iowa State – Matt Campbell

Iowa State, enjoy Matt Campbell for now because the NFL and college football bluebloods will be knocking on his door soon. That’s how coveted Campbell will be. In two years in Ames, Ames has turned Iowa State into a highly respected team in the Big XII. There are no more guaranteed wins when teams see Iowa State on the schedule. Last season Campbell led the Cyclones to 8 wins, the program’s highest win total since 2000. If he keeps the momentum growing from last year, watch out. Iowa State should be fighting in the top half of the conference all year.

Pages: 1 2 3

6 Biggest takeaways: Power Season 5 episode 2

Power Season 5 episode two was short or action but major on the plot set up for the rest of the season. I will always include the opening song, so you can listen while reading. Here are my pre-show thoughts:

  • While I have made my disdain for Dré abundantly clear in the biggest takeaways from episode 1, but I need to mention that I don’t like Terry Silver either. I can’t pinpoint it, but something about his behavior bothers my inner man code fibers.
  • Ghost has to do something to regain his power. He is just getting bullied WAY too much.
  • This four-sided war that is about to break out between the Big 3, Dré +Jiminez, Italians, and Jason M. is going to get UGLY. At some point this season we are going to believe either Ghost, Tommy, or Kanan is going to die.
  • The US attorney’s office seems to be spinning their wheels and is nowhere close to a case against Tommy or Ghost, but this will take a turn soon.
  • Dré is getting too big for his britches. He thinks he’s a boss, but he’s a young Thundercat that isn’t seasoned enough to be a big dog.

Here are the 6 Biggest Takeaways Power Season 5 ep 2:

1. Rashad Tate is a liability

Doomsday is coming from the Rashad Tate and Ghost relationship. I cannot believe another episode goes by that doesn’t involve Ghost, Tate, and a gun. Tate is continuously putting Ghost in some compromising position by putting him front and center with the media. Ghost finally said no to him, and Tate surprises him with a press conference. Now Tasha is pissed at Ghost, and we all know the saying “Happy wife, happy life,” so Ghost ain’t happy. At this point, Tate is a liability to Ghost in every way. He is amplifying the media coverage which means people will be digging for details about Raina’s murder and Ray Ray’s disappearance. That makes Tariq and the entire business at risk of being exposed. Ghost has to be fed up. There’s only so much he’s gonna take from the wannabe governor.

2. SEX is Back

Since Ghost, Tommy, Tasha, and Keisha are all grieving, and in an emotionally dark place after Raina’s murder, I was wondering when and how the writers were going to work in the back breaking sex scenes they are so famous for. We did not see one single ass cheek in episode 1. Enter the Jiminez cartel. Dré was forced to watch him have sex in his apartment (I can only assume what the woman in the back was doing). Then he had to have sex with the party girl. My wife always says, “Why? Why is this necessary, it’s porn”. I’ll admit it is a lot, but it’s part of what makes the show so intense.

3. Ghost + Tommy+ Kanan = Temporary

I hope Ghost and Tommy realize that Kanan is their ally and not their friend. It is always important in life to recognize the difference between friends and allies. Friends always have your back and are there through thick and thin. Allies are temporarily aligned while you have a common goal and enemy. While this issue with the cartel gets worked out, the ‘Big 3’ will stay on the same page, but Kanan let the cat out of the bag that he is coming for Tommy’s business once this whole Dré and Jason M. (connect) thing is dealt with.

4. Tariq’s Promise

Tariq is back to his suburban ‘I’m not really built for this life’ attitude. He is back trying to run from his problems and go to Chote. It was a really touching moment when Tariq opens up to his mom and vows to do better, But as the words ”  ” were coming out of his mouth, I knew those words would fall in the ‘famous last words’ category. It’s kinda like when a beloved character in a movie says, “I’ll be back, I promise”. That person is most assuredly not making it back home. Tariq can’t help himself. He is a saboteur. It is inevitable that he will some kind of way either let Dré ass escape again or get somebody else arrested or killed.

5. Tommy + Keisha within two episodes

Tommy is back to looking at Keisha like a snack, and she is here for it. Keisha doesn’t really want to fall back into bed with Tommy, but I see this as a real relationship budding, that will lead to a major plot twist. She is still being kept in the dark about the inner workings of the “business” and everything surrounding Raina’s murder but will be needed to save the day. This time it won’t just be by lying, Keisha will have to get those pretty little hands dirty. I predict another sex scene that will make Carmelo Anthony (LaLa’s estranged husband) cringe is coming in the next two episodes.

Isn’t it crazy how a traumatic situation and compliments on some banana pancakes made Keisha forget all the bullshit Tommy put her through?

6. Ghost is DEXTER

The real question is, who killed the drunk driver James St. Patrick or is Ghost? I love how the writers have developed Ghost’s character. Most people inherently root for “good people” to win. It had been a long time since Ghost did something where he looks like the hero. We all rooted for him at the beginning of the show because he had roadblocks put up in front of his goal of getting out of the dope game to go legit. But, it had been a while since he did anything “noble.” Now he’s turned into DEXTER (crime scene investigator that kills serial killers). It will be very interesting to see how long this goes on before disaster strikes.

[yotuwp type=”videos” id=”1UJz0O2NjOo” pagination=”off” title=”off” description=”off” player=”scrolling=0&modestbranding=0&showinfo=0&rel=0″]

College Football: Big-10 Coach Power Rankings 2018

Without a doubt, the Big Ten Conference has the best college football coaches in the FBS. From top to bottom, the conference has some of the most respected and talented coaches in the nation. There is a clear cut #1 for the best coach in the Big Ten, but you can make plenty of convincing arguments for #2 to #7. The talent pool is loaded.

Is this the year that a Big Ten school not named Ohio State wins the College Football Playoff? In preparation for the upcoming season, here are the coaching rankings for the Big Ten.

14. Illinois – Lovie Smith

Smith has had no love whatsoever since his return to the college game. Smith took the Chicago Bears to a Super Bowl but has only managed to win five games in 2 years. The Fighting Illini were extremely short on talent, and a winning culture when Lovie arrived. So his principal job has been teaching his guys how to win and get more talent. Illinois just landed the third-ranked quarterback in the Class of 2019, Isaiah Williams. If the Illini can make improvements this year, with Williams coming in 2019, things could be on the upswing for Smith.

13. Tom Allen – Indiana

When you think of the Indiana Hoosiers, basketball, basketball, and more basketball comes to mind. Football? Not so much. Coach Tom Allen is in his second full season with the Hoosiers and will look to bolster its struggling defense. Although Indiana was 5-7 last year, the Hoosiers lost in overtime to Michigan and lost to Michigan State by 8. Only time will tell if the football program can get as much notoriety as the basketball program.

12. Chris Ash – Rutgers

Rutgers used to be at the top of the Big East with Greg Schiano coaching guys like Ray Rice, and Brian Leonard. However, Rutgers has been anything but good the past two seasons, with records of 2-10 and 4-8. The good news is Chris Ash seems to be doing the right things at Rutgers to stop the bleeding. Although it was only 4 wins last year, it was an improvement from the previous season. Ash won a national championship as co-defensive coordinator Ohio State so look for him trying to transfer some of that magic to the Scarlett Knights.

11. DJ Durkin – Maryland

Maryland and coach DJ Durkin came into the 2017 season with an optimistic attitude and that translated to an opening week upset win over Texas. However, injuries derailed the season as the Terps faded quickly. Despite the woes, Maryland has high hopes for 2018 thanks to Durkin’s successful recruiting campaign, which has the 28th recruiting class on 247Sports Composite Team Rankings. Expect Maryland to make a Bowl game in 2018.

Pages: 1 2 3 4

Kawhi Leonard Hid from Spurs Brass When They Came to See Him

kawhi Leonard

We have all heard the speculation reports that Kawhi wants out of San Antonio, and wants to be in Los Angeles. And, we are all pretty certain the relationship between the San Antonio Spurs and their Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard had deteriorated. Apparently, they are much worse than we thought. ESPN Spur’s reporter Michael Wright was on Back To Back the Podcast and said Kawhi Leonard or his camp hid him from Spurs management when they went to New York to check on their star. A team not having access to see a player they are paying $19 million to is unprecedented.

I probably shouldn’t say this, but I’m gonna say it because Kawhi is about to be outta there. There was a point during his rehab process in New York that some of the Spurs brass went out to see him in New York. As soon as those guys arrived to the building, Kawhi’s people grabbed him and sequestered him to another part of the building so the Spurs’ people couldn’t even see him.

Here’s the clip:

At this point, no one knows WHERE or IF Kawhi Leonard will play the 2018-19 NBA season. The Spurs are trying to cut their losses by trying to entice the Lakers, Clippers, and Celtics to pay a king’s ransom through a trade for Leonard. Michael Wright also had thoughts on where Kawhi might land:

6 Biggest Takeaways from Power Season 5 Episode 1 (spoilers inside)

After months on hiatus, it is officially Power season! After four seasons the STARZ show is still maintaining its edge and ever-evolving storyline. Every Monday of Season 5 Unafraid show will be the place to talk about POWER. If you have any thoughts, comments or think I missed anything email me at unafraidshow@gmail.com or leave a comment!

Before I even watched episode 1 I already had thoughts remaining from Season 4.

* How is Tariq going to piss me off this season? He needs his ass whooped.

* What is the stupidest thing Angela Valdez will do for Ghost this season?

* Every episode Ghost doesn’t kill Dre´ I will be mad.

* Is Maria Suarez going to get Ghost arrested?

After watching the episode some of these questions were already answered! So without further adu:

6 Biggest Takeaways from Episode 1

You can listen to the theme song while you read the article.

  1. Dre´ is more slippery than a can of oil.

Counting back to season 4, this dude has escaped being killed or found out no less than 7 times. I refuse to believe this can keep up for much longer. I must admit that when the episode started I was hopeful that Dre´ was next to die, but quickly realized that would be too easy. Like everybody else who has any loyalty, honor, or principles in their bones. Just the site of him ignites such strong feelings of disgust. I cannot wait for Dre´ to get a bullet from Ghost, Tommy, or Kanan. He’s the character that needs to get hit by a bus as he’s gloating about an escape from death. He is the by far the worst kind of person to have in your circle. It makes me angry to my core every time I see his character. He is a fake ass friend that will stab everybody in the back to get ahead.

  1. Why didn’t Ghost try to kill Dre´ at the gravesite?

This mofo Dre´ had the nerve to show up at Raina’s gravesite. I cannot for the life of me figure out why Ghost kept his cool at Raina’s gravesite when Dre´ showed up! Ghost regularly loses his cool in emotional situations, but not then? After that amount of boldness and disrespect, I would have been like “fuck the Jimenez cartel, you gotta die homie”. Ghost must have figured that he needs to find some workaround to keep his family safe when he kills Dre´

  1. Angela Valdez is a horrible liar.

Her horrible lying showed up three times in episode 1. This is exactly why she stay in trouble. The first instance was when Angela was at the crime scene as was asked why she was there. The second was when she told her boss she didn’t answer the phone because she was sleeping. The third was when she told the Internal Affairs investigator that she was at the crime scene to go talk to Ray Ray (dirty cop Tariq killed).

Why on earth would Angela tell multiple different stories to different people who may have contact with each other? How could she possibly think no one would ever mention that she was at Ray Ray’s crime scene? She is a US attorney!

  1. Did Ghost tell Tariq to warn Dre´ so the Italians could kill him?

When Tariq went to the bathroom I thought Tariq needed his ass whooped because he was up to his fuck boy ways again. Then Tariq showed up to carry the casket out and Ghost appeared to knowingly nod at him, so I considered the possibility that Ghost might have told Tariq to text Dre´ so the Italian hitmen where the ones to kill him. But then I remembered that Tariq locked himself in the bathroom to send a secret text. Had he been working at his father’s request he could have sent it from his seat. So moral or the story is that Tariq is a suburban kid with no street smarts and a liability.

  1. Ghost + Tommy + Kanan is exciting

The real “Big 3” is back together Ghost, Tommy, and Kanan. Who would ever think these cats would be working together again?

It was good to see these cats work together against Dre´ rather than fighting against each other. However, I don’t think this alliance will last. A tiger doesn’t change his stripes and neither does a Kanan! Kanan will eventually do something shady as it relates to Tariq and the civil war between the “Big 3” will be back on in full effect.

  1. Tommy is in HOT WATER

Tommy just got vouched for with the Italians and he decides it’s a good idea to go behind their back to hire their hitmen to do his dirty work. There is no way Tommy does not receive MAJOR blowback from this move. Inevitably the Jimenez cartel will figure out the Italians were the people who tried to kill Dre´. That will potentially cause a war, which will leave Tommy square in the middle of both sides.

This good news is Tommy appears to be off the coke and making decent decisions again (considering it’s Tommy we are talking about).

 

Can’t wait for episode 2.

 

 

 

LeBron James To LA: It’s Put Up or Shut Up for the Eastern Conference

LA now has a King. LeBron James is officially a member of the Los Angeles Lakers.

The Summer of LeBron lasted one day. LeBron James is signing a 4-year deal with the Los Angeles Lakers. This time, there was no “Decision” television broadcast. There was no “coming home” article. A simple release from Klutch Sports Group (LeBron’s management company) announced that King James was taking his talents to Los Angeles.

LeBron James now joins the long list of legendary players to wear the gold and purple jerseys. Magic Johnson, Jerry West, Elgin Baylor, Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Shaquille O’Neal, Kobe Bryant, and now LeBron James.

Two of the three dominoes have fallen in the NBA free agency saga. Paul George is staying with the Thunder and LeBron is going to the Lakers. The last domino will involve Kawhi Leonard. Will he sign the supermax in San Antonio or will he be traded to Philly, Boston, or the team that wants to pair Leonard with LeBron, the Lakers?

While we wait on the status Kawhi Leonard, the LeBron James signing not only affects the Lakers but more importantly, it changes the landscape of the entire NBA. LeBron will turn the Lakers into a championship contender. This also means that LeBron makes the West even more stacked as the Lakers will look to compete with the Warriors and Rockets for Conference supremacy.

That being said, for the first time since 2010, a team without LeBron James will represent the Eastern Conference. Using “LeBron James beat us” as an excuse will no longer fly. In other words, it’s put up or shut up.

The Boston Celtics no longer have to lose to LeBron in the Eastern Conference Finals. Philly might be able to complete the process now. The Toronto Raptors do not have to fire their coach after a series loss to LeBron.

The East is now wide open thanks to LeBron’s departure. The thorn in every Eastern Conference team’s side is now banished to the other side of the country. No more excuses. It’s time for Boston, Toronto, Philly, or Washington to finally claim the throne as best in the East. LeBron is now the Western Conference’s problem.

That is until LeBron makes the NBA Finals and beats the East again.

 

College Football: Pac-12 Coach Power Rankings 2018

Great players win games, but great coaches win championships. The Pac-12 always has plenty of great players and is littered with future first-round draft picks. The conference has also had coaching legends like Pete Carrol, John McKay, Terry Donahue, and Don James. Despite a rich history and tradition, the PAC-12 has never had a coaching roster as good as the upcoming 2018 season. From top to bottom, the conference is now full of some of the best coaching minds. Only the Big Ten (Meyer, Chryst, Franklin, Harbaugh, Dantonio, etc) can rival the coaching lineup the Pac-12 now has in its arsenal. Six of these coaches are in their first or second year at their schools, but all are making noise on the recruiting trail and creating a footprint on the college football landscape. Over the next 2-3 seasons, the Pac-12 collectively will have it’s highest finishes on the recruiting trail.

Despite last year’s abject failure as a conference, the future of the Pac-12 conference is extremely bright and will soon claim multiple national championships.

On to the coaches:

12. Oregon State- Jonathan Smith

Jonathan Smith is the biggest unknown of all the Pac-12 coaches. He put up big numbers as the offensive coordinator at both Washington and Montana. The best news for Smith is that there is nowhere to go but up for the Oregon State Beavers. They haven’t won one conference game in two of the last three years. The bad news for OSU is that is Smith is successful he won’t be in Corvallis long.

11. Colorado- Mike MacIntyre

To say that Colorado has struggled since joining the Pac-12 would be an understatement. MacIntyre took over the program in 2013 and has only been able to win more than 5 games once. In his defense, the university absolutely mishandled a powerhouse of a program and burned it to the ground before he got there. The school has not made a commitment to winning, and until they do the Buffaloes will continue to be Pac-12 bottom feeders. There are few coaches who could do better given what MacIntyre has had to work with.

10. Arizona State- Herman Edwards

The Herm Edwards experiment at Arizona State is either going to be feast or famine. Herm was a good NFL coach and is an excellent leader. But, he has never been a college head coach and hasn’t coached football in 10 years. It initially felt wrong ranking him this low, but their recruiting class wasn’t particularly special and he wasn’t able to retain his offensive and defensive coordinators. If Herm does well, re-ranking the coaches at the end of the season is going to be a nightmare.

Pages: 1 2 3 4