The Sport Superlatives - Issue No. 46

The Hockey Playing Barbie

November 15, 2024

🏆 The Superlatives 🏆

The Owner with Empathy: Arthur Blank

The Atlanta Falcons’ matchup against their division frenemies, the New Orleans Saints, was a close game. In fact, the Falcons lost by 3 points. This came after Falcons’ kicker Younghoe Koo missed 3 field goal attempts throughout the game. As he exited the field post game, Koo seemed understandably down. It appeared that Falcons owner Arthur Blank sought him out and lifted him up with encouragement as they walked off the field. Either that or he was gently and subtly scolding him
 but we choose to believe he was lifting his spirits!

The Owner that DGAF: Jerry Jones

Last Sunday, not surprisingly, the Dallas Cowboys lost to the Philadelphia Eagles. The most talked about (missed) play of the game is when wide receiver CeeDee Lamb failed to catch what looked like a wide open touchdown pass. Not that one TD would have made that much of a difference given the final score was 34-6, but the real tea is why he missed it. Lamb reportedly couldn’t see the ball! Many of the Cowboys’ players, opponents, and even referees have all complained about the glare of the sun in the AT&T Stadium in Dallas. 

Post game, a reporter asked Lamb if he was in favor of curtains and he affirmed that he was, indeed. Later other reporters caught up with the Cowboys’ owner Jerry Jones to ask his thoughts on the glare or if he would consider curtains at the request of his player. In response, he threw a little baby tantrum and said, “Well let’s just tear the stadium down and build another one.” Yikes. He also apparently joked that the glare was their home field advantage
 but given the Cowboys' record at home this season, we’d say it’s not quite working for them.

🏒Hi Barbie!: Just when we thought the PWHL jersey drop last week was going to be the highlight of the PWHL pre-season, they went and outdid themselves! Mattel Canada and Barbie continued their support of the PWHL with a very Barbie-sized OOTD, complete with Ken wearing a knockoff NHL jersey. Unfortunately, no word yet on whether these will be for sale, which is a shame because they would make incredible Christmas and Boxing Day gifts for the people you really like in your life.

We’re sure some people have said “It’S nOt A rEaL sPoRt UnTiL iT hAs A vIdEo GaMe”, so we’re excited to report that EA Sports is adding the PWHL players and the Walter Cup to the latest version of NHL 25! [Disclaimer: we don’t know those people and we don’t want to.] This comes two years after Toronto Sceptres’ Sarah Nurse became the first woman to appear on the cover of the franchise in NHL 23, and we gotta say, we like this trajectory and hope it continues.

When talking about records and excitement this season in the NHL, you can’t ignore the Winnipeg Jets and their 15-1 start to the season, holding the title of “Fastest in NHL History to 15 Wins.” It was really that one loss that kept them from getting to the record a bit earlier, but you know, it’s always healthy to have [at least] one arch nemesis in your life.

🏈 Happens in Threes: In week 10 of the NFL something was up with the number 3. 

The Carolina Panthers got their third win of the season over in Munich, Germany against the NY Giants where they won by three points (20-17). Their fellow division team, the New Orlean Saints, also secured their third win with the same exact score against the Atlanta Falcons (by three points in case you skipped the superlative section). 

Wait, there’s more: The Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Washington Commanders (28-27), giving Russell Wilson his third straight win of the season as the starting QB. Then, during the thrill that was last week’s Sunday Night Football game, Detroit Lions v. the Houston Texans, the Lions won by
 you guessed it three points (26-23) after their kicker secured the W with a field goal. Maybe he can give Younghoe Koo a few pointers
 too soon?      

Now the Chiefs game was not lost by 3, but the team still has an undefeated 9-0 record after successfully blocking the Denver Broncos FG to end the game
 9 is a multiple of three
 so it totally still fits our theme. Don’t think too hard about it, just go with it!

🏀 Old Stomping Grounds: The NBA Cup games began this past Tuesday creating the perfect backdrop for Klay Thompson’s return to his old stomping grounds. Klay, and his band of merry Mavericks, took on the Golden State Warriors for the first time since the 4-time champ decided to leave the Bay in search of greener pastures. Thompson was greeted by a sea of people donning “Captain Klay” hats in his honor. It was a beautiful scene: he got a tribute video, the crowd gave him a standing ovation, he scored 22 points
.and Steph Curry handed him an L. The Warriors won the game with Steph scoring the final 12 points down the stretch to include a classic, game-sealing, Steph Curry 3-pointer. Welcome to the other side, Klay...or should we say “night, night”?

Speaking of the NBA Cup
 yes, that weird mid-season tourney has begun. Don’t believe us? Just look at the courts. If you’re ever watching an NBA game and find yourself confused about why the basketball court looks like an overgrown art project, it’s probably an NBA Cup game. What is the NBA Cup? Scroll down to this week’s sports term for clarity. What we will say is that after the first round of ‘cup games’, some teams have some ‘splaining to do: Celtics we’re looking at you. All in all, it’s too early to complain
uh
 comment
 on how any one team is doing. Just know it’s a thing, and it’s happening. If you’re interested, here’s a schedule of the NBA Cup games.

đŸ‘¶đŸŸ Baby Fever: Singer Ciara and hubby (Steelers’ QB) Russell Wilson have a beautiful family
 and apparently Russ is ready for it to grow.  The mother of four gifted us mere mortals a few pics serving face and body, ok? It also did not go unnoticed by Russ. Mr. Unlimited (IYKYK) hopped into his wife’s comments to let her know that not only is he ready for baby number five, but he also has a name already picked out! At the recent Baby2Baby Gala, she told People that she’s not opposed to having a fifth child
 but wants more time before she has another. Ciara gave birth to their youngest, Amora Princess Wilson, in December 2023. Give that woman a break Russ, sheesh!

đŸ•”đŸŸâ€â™€ïž Hide Ya House; Hide Ya Schedule: So the down side of everyone knowing your work schedule, is that everyone also knows when you are and aren’t home. That means that when you’re a famous NFL player, those “don’t tell people when you're going on vacation because they might rob you” warnings, are your everyday life; except your schedule is public and everyone can clearly see when you’re not home. All this to say, Travis Kelce’s and Patrick Mahomes’ houses were burglarized when the two were at an away game in New Orleans. Reportedly 20,000 in cash was stolen from Kelce, and there’s no word about what, if anything, was taken from the Mahomes residence. All this calamity leaves us with two very important questions: who is carrying around that much cash? and where was the “Bling Ring” crew? No, but really, hopefully the 49ers fans
oops, we mean criminals
 responsible are caught, because it’s definitely giving: ‘inside job’.

Your sports term of the week is: NBA Cup

❝

An in season tournament created to ramp up player and fan interest in regular season games. How does it work? There are 3 groups in each conference and all the teams in one group play each other, round robin style. After that, the top teams from each group plus 1 wild card from each conference move on into the single elimination, tourney style play which includes quarterfinals, semifinals, and finals. The semis and finals are played in Vegas December 14th and 17th. The winners get money
and a trophy.

Think of it like this: It’s like the Olympics: group play then single elimination play. Or the ATP/WTA Finals (YAY FOR COCO!)

OOO can I see your muscles?! 

Alright girlies how do we feel about a muscle tee? Kinda cute, right? Well we were certainly feeling them when we saw Washington Wizards’ shooting guard Jordan Poole and Arizona’s QB Kyler Murray rock them in the tunnels last week. 

Jordan Poole’s edgy-chic pairing of the tee with slacks & loafers chef’s kiss

On the other hand, Kyler’s fit gives a bit more of a rockstar vibe: a relaxed red straight leg and boots.

Courtesy of @BlitzFits via Instagram

 Ready to show off those muscles?? Check this muscle tee out at PacSun:

Now
 for those that aren’t willing to brave the cold in the name of fashion, (it is finally getting a little chilly out) we recommend that you add a leather jacket to the fit.

Cue Rockstar 101 by Rihanna

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