The Sport Superlatives – Issue No. 49

Not Always There When You Call But Always On Time...

Author

Superlative Staff
December 08, 2024

December 8, 2024

🏆 The Superlatives 🏆

The Proud Dad: Alex Azalone

Now, most players say their name and their university… or home state… or high school during their in-game video intros. But not Alex Azolone! The Detroit Lions Linebacker said “Those things don’t define me!” He said his greatest title outside of his name, is a dad -a father of two to be exact. He just wanted the world to know where he stood and we respect that. Love a proud dad!

The Disappointed Mom: Felicia Jones

During the Baltimore Ravens’ loss against the Philadelphia Eagles, Lamar Jackson rushed 79 yards. But according to his mom… he could have done better. At the post-game press conference, Lamar said that his mom “cussed him out” about not running enough. He said he had his reasons, but admitted that she was right, he could have done more. Hopefully he will heed her advice for the next game. Afterall, mama knows best!

🏈 Like Oil and Vinegar: We all survived another college football rivalry week. Barely. The fights, flag-planting, and field storming were absolutely insane to witness… from our couch of course, because we weren’t crazy enough to go to any of these games in-person. This was pure chaos with law enforcement needing to be engaged at a number of games. While we love passionate sports fans and team pride… maybe take a chill pill and realize that at the end of the day, it is still… just…a … game? Then again, we apparently love the drama because this was the most-watched Rivalry Week since 2016 according to ESPN. Hope it was worth it as the fines start to roll in. Michigan and Ohio have each already been fined $100k by the Big Ten Divisional Conference. 

Here is how the top rivalry games shook out:

🏈 Watching From a Perch: At the close of week 13 in the NFL, two teams secured their spots in the playoffs. To no one's surprise, the Kansas City Chiefs have secured their spot. After defeating the Las Vegas Raiders, KC will be on a ‘Bye’ week. As if to say… now that we have made it into the playoffs we can kick back and relax for a bit. Although, seeing as how they only beat the Raiders by 2 points after having a sizable lead going into the third, maybe they need to take the week off to get their minds in the game. KC has been scraping by this season, but we expect to see them come full throttle to the playoffs. 

The Buffalo Bills are the second team to clinch their playoff spot. The 5-time AFC East title holders beat the San Francisco 49ers 35-10 in another snow-filled game. It’s almost like having an open dome stadium in Buffalo, NY makes no sense when most of the games take place in the winter. Weird. Anywho, QB Josh Allen said ‘the cold never bothered him anyway’ and had a phenomenal game -even scored a passing TD which is not exactly common for QBs… needless to say, he was geeked about it. 

Week 14 kicked off with the Detroit Lions winning against the Green Bay Packers on Thursday Night Football (final score 34-31). With this win, the Lions joined the Chiefs and Bills on their perch to watch the other lowly peasants fight for their lives… we mean spots in the playoffs.

🏀 Raise Your Cups: The group rounds are over, and the bracket is set for the Emirates NBA Cup quarterfinals. Now, if you were one of the many people who couldn’t wrap your mind around the logistics of this lil tourney, we have the breakdown. At this point, there are 4 Eastern conference teams and 4 Western conference teams, playing in your standard, run-of-the-mill single elimination tournament. In the East we have: Knicks, Magic, Hawks, and Bucks. In the West we have: Warriors, Rockets, Mavericks, and Thunder. The quarterfinal games start Tuesday night. For a full schedule click here. Now, if your fave team didn’t make it out of the group rounds, don’t worry…historically (in the longstanding, one year history), the team who wins won't make it anywhere near the NBA finals.

🏀 New Team, Who Dis? The WNBA has completed its expansion draft for its newest team, the Golden State Valkyries. Talk about moving on up! On Friday night, the Valkyries created a team of treasure from the other teams’ “trash”, selecting one player from each of the other WNBA teams…except the Seattle Storm (are the beggars being choosers?). Regardless, the Valkyries now have an 11-woman roster that will be filled out with more selections from trades, free agency, and the WNBA draft. For a list of the lucky, chosen few, click here. Now don’t get us wrong, a new team is great and all, but when are we gonna up these talented ladies’ paychecks?

🌪Storms Ahead: Speaking of the WNBA, things are getting a bit turbulent in Seattle. A while back, a formal complaint was filed against Seattle Storm, for alleged harassment, mistreatment, and bullying of the players by the team’s coaching staff. Earlier this week, the external law firm that the team hired concluded their investigation and reported that they did not find any violations of discrimination, harassment or bullying according to ESPN. 

Shortly after the report findings were released, Seattle Storm player Jewel Lloyd requested a trade. While the source of the complaint has remained anonymous, her reaction makes one speculate that Jewel is not so happy with the result of the investigation. Jewel has played with the Storm since 2015 and has helped the team win WNBA titles in 2018 and 2020. Despite the teams’ success… the six-time All-star said she’s out. Apparently no matter how fun your job is… it can still feel toxic. How relatable, am I right?

👩‍👩‍👦‍👦 Parent Trap: As we near the end of the college football regular season, most schools are holding their senior nights. For those unfamiliar, it’s when seniors on a college sports team get special recognition. It usually takes place during the last home game/match. Earlier this week, University of Colorado Boulder held their Senior Day where Coach Prime’s sons Shilo and Shedeur Sanders tried to pull the okie doke on good old dad. As Deion Sanders (aka Coach Prime -follow along) walked out with both his sons, he soon realized he was walking into a (parent) trap with his estranged ex-wife, Pilar Sanders. As his sons went to hug their mother, Deion hit a swerve and casually, but quickly, walked away. Despite his sons’ best attempts, their surprise reunion between their parents failed. I mean, the 2013 divorce was pretty messy… but we don’t fault the kids for hoping and trying to reunite their parents.

Your sports term of the week is: Travel

❝

We love to get flewed out! However, in basketball, a travel occurs when a player in possession of the ball takes more than two steps without dribbling.

Think of it like this: It’s like when you’re determined to encourage your infant to walk, so you decide to put him/her down more. However, at some point you become rushed, and just carry the child instead. Now you’re traveling with the ball…uh…baby.

On December 4th, a bunch of our favs were seen at the 2024 Footwear News Achievement Awards… which apparently is also dubbed the “Shoe Oscars”.  The celebrities honored at the event ranged from ASAP Rocky to Martha Stewart. So, as to be expected, the girlies showed up and showed out. 

One of said girlies was Angel Reese. Not only did Angel look amazing at the awards show, but she also won an award for Style Influencer of the Year.

Olympian Gabby Thomas served us a lesson in class in her outfit during the event where she had the privilege of presenting New Balance the award for Company of the Year (not shocking tbh because who isn’t obsessed with New Balance sneakers right now?)

We are absolutely loving these looks from these ladies -their outfits are the perfect inspo for what to wear to your next holiday party! 

Have a fancy holiday party on your calendar? Check out this dress from Altar’d State that is reminiscent of Gabby’s cape. Don’t forget to throw some tights on to keep those legs toasty!

Have a holiday party that’s not exactly fancy, but not exactly casual? This jumpsuit from Lulus that is similar to Angel’s look, strikes a perfect balance. It’s also versatile enough to wear for various occasions. Date night… drinks with the girls… you will surely press repeat on this outfit more than once!

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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