2022 U.S. Open winner, Matthew Fitzpatrick. Life lesson. Note the stark contrast between the blank faces of those attempting to capture the moment and the utter exuberance of those simply experiencing it in the moment.
Before Sunday’s Game 7 in Phoenix, DBook said the Suns were “locked in”. During the game, Luka and the Mavs broke out.
Despite the Mav’s momentum, my money is on the Warriors.
I trust you, my esteemed readers, to know if you need to read this or not.
HBO’s Winning Time is the story of the Los Angeles Lakers 1979 season.
Apparently the Lakers hate it, but I dig it. The Lakers don’t like it because they aren’t making any money from it, they have no control over how the story is told, and it reminds people how good they were in past incarnations.
Also, Magic doesn’t like it because he has a documentary coming out that covers a lot of the same territory. And being famously surly, Kareem doesn’t like it because he doesn’t like much of anything.
I await each episode because I was living in SoCal at the time and a huge Laker fan. Apart from apparently exaggerating Jerry West’s anger management issues, the casting is outstanding.
Also, the attention to period detail is Mad Men-like, meaning off-the-charts.
At the end of a recent episode the Lakers have a day off. Laker coach Jack McKinney‘s wife informs him she’s taking the car and he should go play tennis with Paul Westhead, his ace assistant. After she leaves, the workaholic coach begins scribbling in his notebook, then suddenly heads to the garage of his suburban home to grab his racquet and shiny red Schwinn bicycle.
The next 90 seconds are shot mostly via drone. The successful but simple workaholic, the home, the street, the neighborhood, the sunlight, the Beach Boy music, the Schwinn all felt bizarrely familiar. I wasn’t watching someone else’s life as much as reliving my own. My dad played tennis most weekends in the 1970s in SoCal. He didn’t ride his Schwinn, but there was one in the garage. Long story short, the producers magnificently nailed the ethos of time and place.
One other less obvious thing to note. The fact that the Laker coach’s family only had one car speaks volumes about the NBA’s fledging status in 1979.
Highly recommended. As long as you’re at least 17 years old and not too prudish.
Read in reverse order. I am very happy that my favorite person on Twitter is alive. The mythical Boston Celtic fan has been missing in action for a long time. thank you is ron.
St. Peter’s endowment is $37 million. Kentucky coach John Calipari’s current contract is $86 million.
Repping West Coast basketball.
The lowest point for my UCLA Bruins may have been 2013 when they came from behind and won on a buzzer beater in some Pac-12 conference game. In an otherwise forgettable season, Shabazz Muhammad glared at his teammates as he headed towards the locker room.
Why? Because he didn’t get the last shot. Muhammad, who didn’t give a shit about the team, only cared about his NBA prospects. Never one to play defense, Muhammad spent five years mostly warming NBA benches and then bounced around overseas.
Fast forward to Philadelphia tonight. The University of North Carolina Tar Heels are on a roll and may very well beat my Bruins, but that’s okay, because I get so much joy watching them compete.
They always make the extra pass and never quit. Credit Cronin. The worse things go, the more they lean on each other. And in their pressers, they continually talk about their bonds with Cronin and one another. They are the complete antithesis to the 2013 Bruins.
Yesterday, a college analyst picked the Heels to cover (UCLA is a 2.5 point favorite) and win because they’re playing with so much confidence and they’re a better rebounding team. He cited some other analytics, but he hasn’t watched the Bruins as much as me. You can’t quantify their unity and resolve to keep it going as long as possible.
Win or lose, I will relish the smiles, the affection, the team’s spirit. All of the intangibles.
