The Sport Superlatives – Issue No. 55

January 26, 2024

🏆 The Superlatives 🏆

The Bold Big Sister: Eve Wembanyama

Is there anything better than trash-talking your sibling? When french professional basketball player Eve Webanyama was asked who would win in 1:1 game against her younger brother Victor… she answered, “me”. And she’s standing on that one. The 7’3 Spurs basketball player may intimidate other folks but he's just little bro to her. Eve currently plays for the USO Mondeville French women’s basketball club and played a key role in the 2021 Women’s European Challengers title along with a few other career accolades… so put some respect on her name, ok?

The Bold Big Sister: Eve Wembanyama

Anyone with a sister knows it’s pretty common practice to borrow from each other’s closets. It’s even more common to call out said sister when they inevitably flaunt the pieces in front of you… and that’s exactly what ESPN sports journalist and reporter, Malika Andrews, did when her little sis and fellow ESPN sports reporter wore her borrowed watch on air. Kendra was caught somewhat off guard after being called out on air, but… the second time Malika tried it she was ready… and wearing her own clothes! Love to see these two sisters living out their dreams and still giving each other sisterly love along the way.

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🏈 Simple Division: Now, we know you all have been following the NFL postseason so closely that you likely don’t need us to recap the divisional round of playoffs, but we just can’t help ourselves… gift of gab and all that… so allow us the privilege of giving you the rundown of the four games that had us melted into our couches last weekend. 

• First up we saw the Houston Texans face-off against the Kansas City Chiefs… and lose, 14-23. While there is some healthy debate on whether or not the refs were heavily favoring and protecting KC QB Mahomes, no one can deny that someone finally pressed the activate button on Travis Kelce (T. Swift’s man) and he went turbo in a way we haven’t seen all season. Let’s see if he keeps that momentum against the Buffalo Bills in the AFC championship this Sunday. 

• The real shocker was how the underdog Washington Commanders eliminated the Detroit Lions winning, 45-31. During the post interview, head coach Dan Campbell was a bit emotional as he questioned the team's ability to make it to the postseason next year… and we get it. Especially with both his offensive and defensive coaches taking head coaching gigs elsewhere. While everyone is playing a tiny violin for the Lions, the football world is buzzing about the wonder kid, Commanders QB Jayden Daniels. Who doesn’t love an underdog story?

• While the LA Rams had quite the start to the postseason, most predicted that the Philadelphia Eagles (37) would best the LA Rams (21)... and so they did. Oh well, better luck next year! 

• Speaking of luck… what an unlucky end for the Baltimore Ravens. The Baltimore Ravens were bested 25-27 by the Buffalo Bills. After a tremendous season by QB Lamar Jackson and RB Derrick Henry we were all rooting for the Ravens to finally get through this divisional round… but once again they came up short.

Well buckle up for the divisional championships! Will the Chiefs accomplish a first for NFL history and advance to the SuperBowl for the third year in a row? Or will the Buffalo Bills finally beat the Chiefs in the playoffs and make it to their first SuperBowl since 1993?? Will the Washington Commanders continue their underdog journey and go all the way? Or will Jalen Hurts, Saquon Barkley and the rest of the Philadelphia Eagles squad shut that down? Watch to find out:

🎾 Aussie Aussie Aussie!: The first Grand Slam of the season is in the books! Congrats to American Madison Keys for winning her first major… ever. Now, at almost 30 yrs old, Madi is a seasoned vet in these tennis streets (we’re talking salt, pepper, paprika, etc.)...so this title has been a long time coming. Madison defeated reigning champ and #1 seed, Aryna Sabalenka, in the finals, but also had to fight her way through the #2 seed, Iga Swiatek on her way to the top. It was a great run, and after 16 years playing pro, it’s great to see her reach a goal she once thought was unattainable.

On the men’s side, Jannik Sinner defeated Alexander Zverev to win the Australian open…again. This makes back to back Aussie Open titles for Sinner, not to mention he just won the US Open to close out last season. Sinner is on a roll, and the others are gonna have to move out of his way, or get knocked over. This man definitely has ice in his veins (or some other substance), because he dominated the competition and only dropped 2 sets the entire tournament. Unfortunately, Zverev had to settle for losing his 3rd major final…Didn’t they say the third time was supposed to be a charm? (maybe the charm only works when you don’t hit women…allegedly)

OH…and if you like a little black girl magic (if you don't, you shouldn’t be here), Taylor Townsend picked up her 2nd Grand Slam title in doubles this weekend! Congrats to her and her partner Katerina Siniakova.

🏀 Spittin’ All-Star Game: The NBA announced the All-star starters for the upcoming game.. Who made the cut? Some of the usual suspects and maybe a few you wouldn’t have guessed (especially if you haven’t been watching this season). See the rosters here. If you’re not trying to do all that reading, just know Steph Curry, LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Jayson Tatum all made the cut. The rest of the All-star reserves will be announced January 30 on TNT. Now, FYI, the All-star game has been revamped this year, and while the format keeps getting more and more complicated, we’re not sure it’s getting more competitive…But hey, maybe this year will be different.

Also, this past week was “Rivals Week” in the NBA. It’s some newfangled way to increase viewership by relying on the already heavy laden backs of LeBron and Steph…jk, kinda. Really, the NBA just created matchups, deemed them rivalries (because of some sort of history), and had them play. We love a good game with no stakes, but all we wanna know is….isn’t that what Christmas is for? Either way, here’s how it went down: 

• The Lakers beat a Stephless Warriors…oh wait no, Steph did play. He just went 0-8 from the field in the second half. Regardless, Lakers won, 118-108

• The Celtics defeated the Mavericks. A rematch of last year’s NBA finals ended the exact same way. What’s that saying about doing something over and over and expecting different results? Insanity. Celtics won, 122-107.

• The Timberwolves beat[down] the Nuggets..why is this a rivalry? Guess meeting in the playoffs a few times is enough to stir the pot. Either way, if Timberwolves winning 133-104 is giving “rivalry”, then sure, it counts.

🏈 Done and Done: The College Football National Championship game between Notre Dame and Ohio State happened last Monday. Long story short: Ohio State got out to an early lead, staved off a lil comeback attempt, and won 34-23. YAY, now college football is finally over. Congrats.

📹 Tuned In: Earlier this week, Netflix announced a new series, “Running Point,” featuring actress Kate Hudson. The show’s storyline is that Hudson’s character becomes the President of the fictional basketball team, Los Angeles Waves, after her brother’s forced resignation. But here’s the real tea: after the announcement, LA Lakers' President and controlling owner, Jeanie Buss, tweeted (or is it X’d??) about how the plot sounded like a story she knows all too well. See, back in 2013, Jeanie became the governor of the team after her father Dr. Jerry Buss’ passing. Then, in a controversial move in 2017, she fired her brother and the team’s General Manager. Sports, family drama, women taking on male dominated fields?… We would have made a show about it too! The show’s promo even looks like her book cover… imitation is the best form of marketing… or whatever they say. Sounds like a show we’ll be binging for sure!

🗣 Talkin’ All that Ish: Tennis GOAT, Novak Djokovic, was not happy with his treatment by a particular Australian newscaster, Tony Jones, so he refused an on-court post match interview in protest. Tony used his lil 5 minutes of fame to taunt and jeer at a crowd of Djokovic fans, saying Novak was “overrated” and that they should “kick him out” (is that like “go back to where you came from” in Australian?). Well, Djokovic said he wasn’t talking to that man or his lil’ friends until he got an apology… and did just that. He refused the post game interview with Jones’ colleague, Jim Courier, and broadly addressed the crowd instead. While Jones insisted it was all a joke and that he’d already apologized, Djokovic essentially said the apology needs to be just like the disrespect: public. So, Jones had to walk it back and apologize…kinda (because “I’m sorry if you thought that”, isn’t really an apology). Either way, Djokovic accepted the “apology” so, we guess we can’t complain.

🪙 It’s a Toss Up: So the NCAA Football National Championship game coincided with MLK Day this year. In true performative fashion, Bernice King, daughter of the late great Martin Luther King Jr., was invited to the game to perform the coin toss. Now, apparently the football fans are a bit upset because Bernice did not get to actually toss the coin. Instead, the ref stepped right in front of her, like he was assigned to box her out, and tossed the coin himself. Bernice’s face was giving “shock”, and the internet felt the snub was intentional and disrespectful. Ms. King released a statement explaining that she thought she would actually get to toss the coin, and was therefore surprised. You’re not alone, Ms. King. All we want to know is this: is this all some kinda metaphor for what happened with this damned Inauguration being on MLK day?

Your sports term of the week is: Offense

IRL Example: It’s like when you’re in a verbal altercation and you’re coming with all the receipts, insults, and facts to prove your points. You’re on the offense. The other person? The one sitting there trying to explain their actions with their back against the wall and tail betwixt their legs?…That person is on defense.

One thing to love about fashion is that it brings the DRAMA -and if we’ve learned anything it’s that the our fav sport girlies love drama almost as much as they love fashion… and we love it all! 

Exhibit A: WNBA Seattle Storm guard Skylar Diggins-Smith. The amount of gossip surrounding her (remember what went down with her ex-teammate Jewell Loyd) is almost as high as the shoulders on her fabulous and very on-trend brown suit from An Only Child. 

Love how she paired the suit with a pointed toe heel from United Nude… and did y’all peep the vintage Louis Vuitton? IT’S GIVING DRAMAAAAAAAAA and thus we love it!

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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