I’m conflicted this morning. I have been on the Warriors’ bandwagon ever since I saw the effectiveness of the Splash Brothers, combined with well-rounded, offensive role players, in NBA 2k14. To verify said claim, here’s an email I sent to a contact at Google, a big Warriors fan, with whom I had bonded discussing the merits of Mo Speights and Andre Iguodala:

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Since then, I’ve been casually rooting for the Warriors. Not in a buying their hats and shirts sort of way, but in a yeah, that’s the team I’ll root for in the playoffs sort of way. So, this morning, I’m disappointed. I’m not a LeBron hater. I never had a problem with The Decision. I enjoy being witness to his inarguable greatness. He’s arguably the second best player ever, already, and, I’d argue, a more imposing force than Michal Jordan ever was. But whatever eye-rolling cynicism I had towards him was reinforced last night when, after winning, he spoke about how God chose for this to be his path, about how he had to fight and find his game, about how he, he, he won, and then he held up three fingers to fans… not to symbolize the number of titles he’s won with the Cavs, but the number of titles he’s won, two of which came as Cavs fans drowned in their sad sorrows of being from Cleveland. It’s just too much to take. He grates at you as a sports fan. Just when you think it’s not all about him, that’s exactly when he makes it all about him. It’s the culture of the sport, for sure, but you never got that with the Spurs (whom I hated watching), or to that degree with the Warriors last year or Celtics prior to that. I felt like I was watching LeBron’s championship last night, not the Cavaliers’, not Cleveland’s. LeBron’s. He was so eager to get to Cleveland last night… that the Cavs stopped in Vegas on their way back. Can’t wait… just after we hit the club. LeBron won the NBA Championship. Great player, great story, great series, great Game 7. But, I don’t have to like it.

Let’s hit it!

 

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The roundup:

The US Open was kind of a mess. The tournament run by the USGA ironically showed how clueless and out-of-step the governing body of US golf is when officials stated, mid-round, that they may – MAY – impose a one-stroke penalty on genuine blockhead (totally a term of endearment) Dustin Johnson after the final round, which, at the time, certainly could’ve determined the winner of the tournament, this a year after DJ choked to oh holy hell on 18 at the US Open. Thankfully, I guess, DJ won going away and, to this moment, I’m still not sure was ever assessed the penalty because I, along with the rest of America, tuned out to see Game 7 of the NBA Finals, the start of which was timed perfectly for a Father’s Day sports cannoli. But the real takeaway of the tournament was Paulina Gretzky’s dress and the indecision faced by a lucky cameraman as to whether or not he should hang back and potentially commit a crime, or go closer and fail to give viewers what they so badly wanted:

A note:

It’s here that I would point out my father-in-law was working the remote for me.

 

Meanwhile, the Warriors:

https://twitter.com/jasonrmcintyre/status/744725731020660736

Gross. Their second-to-last possession, specifically, was one of the worst I’ve ever seen. Down three, they had plenty of time to work an easy basket and extend the game. But nope, Steph Curry dribbled the air out of the ball and jacked up a predictable prayer that was well covered. Obviously he can score from anywhere, but that was a horrendous possesion at the absolute most crucial moment, and he F-ed it up bigtime. He and Steve Kerr deserve to get killed (metaphorically) for it. Still, not to make excuses, but I’m convinced he was more injured than he let on. His ability to gain the paint and create was all but gone after his second round injury.

 

The NBA is dead:

 

An NHL franchise in Vegas? Fine. An NBA franchise in Vegas? Never:

 

John Clark’s Howard Eskin impression, courtesy of Philly.com, is pretty damn good:

 

 

God these are beautiful.

 

Looks like another summer of not going in the ocean:

https://twitter.com/Zoisboui/status/744611417572028418

 

I still have a post coming on the God awful NBC 10 weather broadcasts:

 

The Economist looks at why weather people are always wrong.

 

The Sixers will work out National Champion Ryan Arcidiacono.

 

I, for one, welcome our Crying LeBron overlords:

https://twitter.com/janderson042/status/744877397330231296

 

Willie Geist’s interview with Bill Simmons on Sunday Today, with Willie Geist, was quite good:

 

Someone paid $100,000 for two courtside tickets to Game 7. Wonder if it was this guy:

 

Too soon:

 

You can have beer at the zoo and Philly Mag’s resident hot take artist thinks that’s a terrible thing.

 

High school graduation fight.

 

Geno’s fight.

 

Can’t wait to see Embiid’s tweets once he’s actually playing:

 

Brett Brown calls the worries about Ben Simmons’ attitude “conspiracy theories.”

 

Phil Knight always wins:

[Highly recommend his new memoir, Shoe Dog.]

 

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