The Sport Superlatives - Issue No. 25

June 21, 2024

🏆 The Superlatives 🏆

From the Championship to Chicken Tenders: Al Horford

After helping secure the championship win (we’ll get into that later), Boston Celtics' Al Horford served fans chicken tenders. Big Al spent some time at the national chain Raising Cane’s restaurant in Boston. Hundreds of fans were waiting to meet Al, and by the time he arrived, his security had to make a path for him to enter the restaurant. It's not surprising given that Boston has always loved its teams… especially when they win. 

@houseofhighlights

Boston loves Al Horford and chicken tenders 🤣🤣 (via @fredo.13) #celtics #bostonceltics #nba #basketball

From Delivering Pizza to the Big Leagues: Chris Roycroft

St. Louis Cardinals’ pitcher Chris Roycroft dreamed of debuting in the big leagues long before he got his official shot. To bide his time, young Chris took Beyonce’s mantra to heart. You know the one. “I dream it, I work hard, I grind ‘til I own it…And grind he did! Chris went from delivering pizzas and a few other jobs to making it in the Majors as a pitcher. Listen to his story here. Now he’s up to the Big Leagues, and it’s his turn at bat. Batter up!

🏀 The Champs are Here!: On Monday night, the Boston Celtics defeated the Dallas Mavericks in Game 5 of the NBA Finals and were crowned the 2024 NBA Champions! Jaylen Brown (again, not Tatum)  was named the finals MVP primarily due to his defensive efforts against Mavs star Luka Doncic. With this win, the Celtics have broken their tie with the Lakers for most NBA titles. 

Of course, Lakers fans are spiraling, but what’s new? Mavs fans and Celtics haters have much to say about this and that….but it all sounds like code words for “sore losers” to us. Congrats to the Celtics, and may they enjoy their parade! Maybe they’ll picture themselves gliding over a sea of haters and naysayers as they ride their duck boats into the sunset.

🏒 Not Over ‘Til It’s Over: Many of us (🙋🏾‍♀️🙋🏾‍♀️🙋🏻‍♀️) thought the Florida Panthers would sweep the Edmonton Oilers after their 3-0 start from last week’s newsletter, and the Oilers took that personally. The Oilers went into Game 4 (finally?) ready to prove they deserved the spot they earned in the Stanley Cup Finals and absolutely crushed the Panthers’ defense, winning the game 8-1. Oilers’ captain, Connor McDavid, finally scored his first goal of the Finals and claimed the record for most assists in a postseason, previously set by Wayne Gretzky during his stint with the Oilers back in 1987-88. Doing the most.

To prove it wasn’t a fluke, the Oilers beat the Panthers in Game 5 back on Florida ice, 5-3. McDavid had two more goals in that game, so it seems like he just needed to break the seal on his post-season goal-scoring abilities. 

Game 6 is tonight at 8 PM ET, back on Edmonton ice. If the Oilers can force a Game 7 and win, they would be the first team in 82 years to do it, dating back to the 1942 Stanley Cup Finals when the Toronto Maple Leafs did it. Whether this season ends with a Game 6 or 7, we'll know our winner before next week's newsletter, so don't miss out!

⛳ Fumbled the Bag: The US Open (golf, not tennis) wrapped up this weekend, and Bryson DeChambeau was crowned champion after a last-minute meltdown from Rory McIlroy. McIlroy who held a 2-shot lead, proceeded to log three bogeys across the final five holes including two missed putts which continue to haunt him (basically his words, not ours). McIlroy then left the event like a bat out of hell and didn’t even talk to media. It’s giving: tantrum. 

He later went on to call it the toughest day he’s had in his golf career. We’re sure everyone can agree that that sucks….well, everyone except maybe Bryson. Congrats champ…way to capitalize on your opponent’s downfall!

🍼 Droppin Another Deuce: Sooo newly crowned NBA Champ, Jayson Tatum, has been rumored to be dating “Boo’d Up” singer Ella Mai since 2020. Well, Ms. Mai was seen prancing around the NBA championship celebrations, looking mighty preggo! So, of course, it follows that along with 1x NBA Champ, Tatum will soon be called a Dad x 2. We all know Tatum’s son, Deuce, is the apple of his eye, so we bet he’ll be a great father to baby number 2…assuming it’s his. (It’s definitely his.)

📋 Are You JJoking? No, this is real life; former NBA player and current analyst JJ Redick has been confirmed and solidified as the newest head coach for the LA Lakers. JJ is a first-time coach (that’s right, zero experience in that department), and the Lakers are one of the most valuable NBA franchises…what could possibly go wrong? Let’s not forget that JJ recently started co-hosting a podcast with Lakers’ star LeBron James. We’ll just put the information out there and let you connect the dots. Let’s just say LeBron is never beating the “LeGeneral Manager” allegations.

🥇 Flipping Scripts: Simone Biles, you know the Olympic gold medalist? Well, she’s making her debut on a screen near you, starring in the two-part documentary, “Simone Biles Rising.” The documentary will follow her journey back to the gym after the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. She’s a star, she’s multifaceted, she’s real, she’s getting personal, she’s showing she’s more than gymnastics (her words,) and we can’t wait to watch it on Netflix on July 17th! Watch the trailer here.

Your sports term of the week is: bogey

IRL Example: It’s like what happened to Rory McIlroy as he fell apart at the end of the US Open. You get a Bogey! You get a Bogey! You get a Bogey! 

Athletes in Paris

It’s Paris Fashion Week for SS25 Menswear, and it’s bringing all the boys to the yard. As our favs step out of the tunnel and frolic about France, we have spotted a couple of outfits that have us saying ouiiiiiiiii (read: yassssss… but in French, of course, because we are cultured). 

Ja’Marr Chase

Justin Jefferson and Joe Burrow

Stefon Diggs and Kyle Kuzma

Here are a few pieces you can buy to pretend like you, too, are using the streets of France as a personal runway.

Let us know who wore your fav Paris lewk!

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!

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