Brad Hubbard Basketball, Football, NBA, NFL

The Sunday: That Just Happened

By Brad Hubbard | @bradhubbard

The Sunday

Yep. He Made That

Yes, LeBron James made a shot from the other end of the court. Perhaps the closest anyone has come previously was Grant Hill when he hit Christian Laettner in the Regional Final of the NCAA Tournament back in 1992.

 

Great Singing Almost Gets You Sacked 

Houston Texans All-Pro JJ Watt has been everywhere this offseason. From the NCAA Tournament to a Houston Rockets playoff game. He is also the best face the NFL can put out there this side of Peyton Manning. To prove it he ran from his seat to tell a kid ‘awesome job’ after a great rendition of the National Anthem.

 

Gunned Down

We may not talk about Arena Football very often but sometimes some things happen that you just have to point out. This one didn’t even happen on the field either.

At a Philadelphia Soul game against the Jacksonville Sharks earlier this month, a woman ‘gunned down’ her male counterpart in the row in front of her. The Soul should thank her too, the video has over 3 million views and counting on YouTube.

Head to the :45 second mark. 

 

And That Went In

If you are a teams starting goalie during an elimination game in the Stanley Cup Playoffs you would hope that you wouldn’t let one go between your legs. The five-hole that any goalie on that level should stop. Well that’s exactly what happened with St Louis Blues goalie Jake Allen. He was pulled right after and not long after that the Minnesota Wild closed out the series with a 4-1 win.

 

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Brad Hubbard Basketball, Golf, Hockey, Media, NBA, NHL, UFC

The Sunday: Legendary In More Ways Than One

By Brad Hubbard | @bradhubbard

Sometimes we see legendary things, people, incidents, etc and don’t even blink an eye. Other times we can’t believe it. When you look at it through that prism then you’ll realize that last week was legendary.

THE HIT:

Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Dion Phaneuf absolutely leveled St Louis Blues winger TJ Oshie on Saturday night in Toronto. While the Blues took care of business by beating the hapless Leafs 6-1, the score is a side note. The real story is not only the incredable hit Phaneuf laid on Oshie but the fact that Oshie popped right back up.

THE THROW:

Rory McIlroy is golf’s #1 player. Even if he wasn’t it would still be pretty incredible to see a professional golfer chuck his club into the water after a lousy shot. Well that’s what happened. It even amazed the announcers when he did it.

 THE WORDS:

LeBron James is by all accounts one of the best basketball players on Earth. So there is something to be said when he says that he ‘sucked’. He said so after a subpar performance against the NBA’s best team the Atlanta Hawks.

Remember James had 18 points, six rebounds and eight assists. However he turned the ball over nine times. Last weekend he went 3-11 from the free throw line against the Houston Rockets arguably costing his team the win.

It’s not been a good week for The King.

THE EXIT:

The UFC has had some legendary fights and fighters. However one of the cornerstones of the organization has been Site Coordinator Burt Watson. Watson left the organization earlier this week after an incident at UFC 184 in Los Angeles. He confirmed as much later in the week. 

Watson is known to the fighters and others simply as Burt. He ‘un-fucked shit’ as he would say. From logistics to fighter requests about who would be or not be in their locker room, he handled it all. His exit left an outpouring of disbelief from the fighters.

Whatever happened the fact is that during upcoming UFC events, fighters will not be told it’s time to go with Watson’s catchphrase ‘WEEEE ROLLLLIIIIINNNNN YEAH!!!! BABY!’

Showdown Joe Ferraro at SportsNet in Toronto sat down with Watson last year. If you have never heard of Burt Watson before then watch this.

 

Yes it was a legendary week in more ways than one. Most of the time we don’t even notice this stuff. We just chalk it up as trivial but a lot of times it’s not. It certainly isn’t to the participants. It’s ok to stop every now and then, look back and recognize what just happened.

Brad Hubbard Baseball, Basketball, Hockey, MLS, NBA, NHL, Soccer

What to Watch Fri. 5/30- Sun. 6/1

Friday May 30th

San Francisco Giants @ St Louis Cardinals – 5:15pm MLB.TV: A great pitching matchup, Madison Bumgarner (6-3) vs Adam Wainwright (8-2), and two teams who will compete to represent the National League in the World Series. Just like they’ve done the last four years.

Indiana Pacers @ Miami Heat – 5:30pm ESPN: Looks like King James and crew will get it done in Game 6 at home. But the Pacers were the best team in the East this year so, that’s why we watch the game.

Chicago Blackhawks @ Los Angeles Kings – 6pm NBCSN: Game 6 and the Kings can close it out at home. It’s a tall order for the struggling Blackhawks.

Saturday May 31st

UFC Fight Night Double Header – Noon/ 7pm: Since the UFC doesn’t have enough fights they decided to put two events on the same day. The first one features Mark Munoz vs Gegard Mousasi and the second one features Stipe Miocic vs Fabio Maldonaldo. Basically if you’re in the mood for a cage fight at some point on Saturday, odds are there is a live fight happening somewhere. See UFC.com for more info.

Real Salt Lake @ Seattle Sounders – 1pm MLS LIVE: Regardless if players are going to Brazil or not, this is a key match-up out West. Why? It’s the top two teams in that’s why.

San Antonio Spurs @ Oklahoma City Thunder – 5:30pm TNT: Yep, it’s a Game 6. Someone can close it out.

Sunday June 1st

USA vs Turkey – 11am ESPN2: Team USA’s second tune up game for the World Cup.

Vancouver Whitecaps @ Portland Timbers – 6pm MLS LIVE: A Cascadia Cup match-up and Portland looks like they are starting to find their legs (even though they may not have a lot left with this being their third game in eight days.)

Brad Hubbard Basketball, NBA, UFC

Do It For The Fans

By Brad Hubbard @bradhubbard

Recently NBA Hall of Famer Magic Johnson offered LeBron James $1 million to be in next years Slam Dunk Contest during All Star Weekend. Fellow analyst and former NBA star Jalen Rose added that he’d like to see Blake Griffin in this contest as well.

LeBron has never been in the Slam Dunk Contest. Will a million dollars get him to do it? Maybe but then again maybe not. While people around the internet debate the reasons why LeBron should or shouldn’t do the Slam Dunk Contest it begs the question, don’t fans want to see him in the Slam Dunk Contest?

Compare LeBron’s situation to another sport, MMA. There have been countless times when a fighter has lost a fight and yet was content with the show they put on for the fans. The Wanderlei Silva vs Brian Stann fight this past weekend is a classic example. Both fighters are true warriors and have absolutely no intention of letting the judges decide who would win the fight. They had some amazing exchanges in the 1st round before Wanderlei found the right combination to knockout Stann in the 2nd.

Silva v Stann Highlights

There are several fighters out there like Silva and Stann. So many that it’s hard to keep track. Fighters who put it all on the line and would rather put on an amazing fight for the fans then to play it safe and and take their chances with the judges decision.

So why is LeBron playing it safe? Yeah, he may lose the Slam Dunk Contest if he enters but he also might lose his next game so what’s the difference? It’s part of being a competitor. Sometimes you win and sometimes you lose but the beauty of sports isn’t just winning, it’s putting on a memorable performance that lives on through the years. Much like Michael Jordan’s winning dunk at the 1987 Slam Dunk Contest where he took off -literally- from the free throw line. It wasn’t Jordan’s first Slam Dunk Contest. He lost his first one to Dominique Wilkins but the competitor he is made hime comeback to show that he was the best.

Should LeBron enter the 2014 Slam Dunk Contest? Yes and if for no other reason then to do it for the fans.