The Sport Superlatives - Issue No. 12

March 22, 2024

Do you love sports? Want to find a way to fit more sports into your week? We’ve got you. From keeping up with your work colleagues to impressing hot dates, our newsletter aims to keep you in the know regardless of your fandom level or the reason. That’s your business, sis!

🏆 The Superlatives 🏆

The Best Defense: Derrick White

Derrick White of the Boston Celtics, considered the best shot-blocking guard in the NBA this year, made a great chase-down block against Piston’s player, Malachi Flynn, as the two teams played Monday night.

Flynn thought he had an easy layup in transition but was instead met with denial… and probably a bit of embarrassment… and maybe a bit of confusion…and probably some stress from playing for the Pistons. Anywho, being that White stands at a miniscule 6’4, which is basically 5’2 in the NBA, his blocking stats are pretty impressive this year. And this block pales in comparison to the one he did against the Suns’ Forward Royce O’Neale, but don’t take our word for it; see for yourself: 

The Best Defense…Against His Own Team: James Harden

While the LA Clippers were up 81-60 in their game against the Portland Trail Blazers, Harden passed the ball to Kawhi Leonard for a 3-pointer… but then he decided that for once in his career, he wanted to play defense. Unfortunately, it was against his own teammate. Leonard, likely just as confused as the rest of us, missed the shot, and it rebounded back to Harden. Later, Harden claimed it was just some camaraderie amongst teammates to keep things exciting. Not sure how excited Leonard was to miss the shot.

⚾ Baseball Got Some Seoul: The Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres faced off in MLB's first regular season game series in Seoul, South Korea. The series was split 1-1, with the Dodgers coming out as the victors on the night of Game 1 with a score of 5-2 and four runs by the Dodgers in the 8th inning.

In Game 2, The Padres got their lick back with a win of their own, scoring fifteen runs vs. the Dodgers eleven. Good thing the Padres pulled it off because their shortstop Ha-Seong Kim was born and raised just outside Seoul, and who wants to be embarrassed in their own hometown by losing twice? Both teams are returning to the US to prep for MLB Opening Day on March 28th. 

And while Ha-Seong Kim may have been soaking up all the hometown glory, all eyes and headlines have been on the Dodgers’ ​​Shohei Ohtani. Shohei, nicknamed Shotime, was the David Ruffin (IYKYK) of the series. After reportedly securing the largest free agency contract in baseball history of $700M over ten years, fans and haters alike are all curious and tuning in to watch him this season….we just hope he gets a more loyal interpreter, stat!  

🏒 A Magic Show or A Hockey Game? Boston Bruins’ David Pastrnak scored the seventeenth hat trick of his career during their game against the Ottawa Senators on March 19th. On the same day, ‘Mister Me Too,’ Mark Scheifele of the Winnipeg Jets completed his eighth hat trick (totally the same as 17, right?) of his career in the Jets’ win against the NY Rangers. Not to be outdone, Mikko Rantanen of the Colorado Avalanche scored his seventh career hat trick as the team won against the St. Louis Blues the next night on March 20th. Something must be in the ice! (And if you have no clue what a hat trick is - keep scrolling!)

🏀 The Madness of March: The brackets are set, and the No. 1 seeds for both the Men’s and Women’s sides of the NCAA basketball tournaments have been released. In the Men’s corner, we have UNC, Houston, UConn, and Purdue. On the Women’s side, we have South Carolina, Iowa, Texas and USC. Games are in full swing, and upsets have already occurred. How though?!? We just started. 

Well, since you asked, on the Men’s side, Duquesne (11) upset BYU (6) to get their first tournament win in over 50 years, proving that whatever you’re dreaming of, just keep going! Who knows, maybe in 50+ years, you, too, will achieve. 

Additionally, LeBron James, who skipped the whole college thing altogether, has somehow found a team for which to root. And before you ask, no, it’s not his son Bronny and his lil team… because they’re not setting a foot on any wooden plank that belongs to this year’s tournament. It seems King James is also rooting for Duquesne due to some old ties.

LeBron’s former high school coach, Keith Dambrot, is the current head coach at Duquesne, and his former high school teammate, Dru Joyce III, is an associate head coach. What a semi-circle moment for them! And to top it off, Bron gifted the whole team new shoes! 

🏀 Bring ya Game, Not ya Name…this was the phrase toted by TNT analyst Kenny Smith following the upset of big name school, University of Kentucky (3), by Oakland University (14) from Auburn Hills, MI. Everyone’s brackets have been set ablaze, and another Cinderella story has emerged from the ashes.

Oakland’s guard, Jack Gohlke, hit ten 3-pointers and tied the record for 2nd most made threes in an NCAA tournament game. And now, Greg Kempe, who has coached Oakland’s team for 40 years, has finally achieved the team’s first-ever tournament win. Now, that is a lesson in perseverance..or mediocrity...

Either way, congrats to Oakland University on their big win! But real quick, do y’all think Kentucky is gonna let Coach Cal stay for 40 years after the 1-5 record he’s had at the tourney lately? We don’t think so…and apparently, we’re in good company.

🥊 Concussion Protocol: Now, let’s be serious for a second. Former MMA fighter Ronda Rousey is coming forward to detail what led to her exiting the ring for good. She spoke on Facebook Live about how, outside the ring, she has fought a silent battle with a long-standing history of concussions that dated back to her judo days. This was long before the kick heard ‘round the world, where Holly Holm defeated Rousey with a KO…and let’s keep it real, taking that kick did her no favors.

Rousey’s revelations come on the heels of the heartbreaking death of former NHL player Chris Simon, which his family is attributing to CTE. And, in combo with the NFL’s well-known history with CTE and concussions, it makes us realize that while sports entertain us in the stands and on the couches, it can be very dangerous for those participating. We hope that strides continue to be made to benefit these athletes and further prevent these types of injuries.

Nobody’s Perfect: LA Lakers’ Forward Christian Wood's ex-girlfriend, social media influencer Yasmine Lopez, recently went live on Instagram to shed some light on their current situation. While the couple shares an 8-month-old son, they parted ways back in December 2022. But the breakup has been a little messy. After an incident that resulted in the vandalism of one of Woods' cars, he filed a restraining order against his former partner. 

During her IG live, Lopez let her followers know she was working on herself and is in therapy after being arrested for the incident. She also said she’s not just hopping fences for no reason… insinuating that Wood played his part in the incident. We hate to see it…but we do have one question… Do y’all think she was listening to Carrie Underwood’s “Before He Cheats” or Jazmine Sullivan’s song “Bust Your Windows?” Jk jk. We hope they find a way to co-parent together peacefully…for the baby! 

It’s Not Us, It’s You: According to ESPN, several MLB players recently told MLB Players Association executive director Tony Clark that, three strikes or not, they’re ready for deputy executive director Bruce Meyer to be out! During a three-hour Zoom call (y’all think their cameras were on the whole time or nah?), several players spoke up about wanting to replace Bruce Meyer with Harry Marino, the lawyer who spearheaded the unionization efforts of minor league players. Why do the players want to oust Meyer? 

According to some sources, the players feel like the MLB is getting too tight with the purse strings and that Meyer doesn’t have their back in these negotiations. Despite the informal vote, Tony Clark did not make any final decisions during the call, saying there was no consensus amongst the players. Somebody send Brucey the job ads… because it’s not looking good for him. 

Your sports term of the week is: hat trick.

IRL EXAMPLE: You’re having a night out with friends, and you score numbers from three hotties. Some days, you’ve just got the juice, you know?

Our fav girlie, Zendaya, jumped in on the athletic prep fashion trend while attending the Open in Indian Wells with Spiderman boo, Tom Holland. We will likely continue to see Zendaya serving more preppy looks as the 27-year-old actress promotes her upcoming tennis drama, Challengers.

gqsports

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We personally stan this cosplay. It’s giving America’s sweetheart. It’s giving I drink martinis at the country club. It’s giving my mom is the original rich auntie. 

Now, we’re ready to give these stores our coins and buy these skirts to get the look! 

Happy shopping!

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