Author: AG

LeBron Goes Full Villain-Mode After Knicks Win

LeBron has been in the news cycle a lot before the Knicks game last night due to his comments that they should have drafted Mavs’ rookie Dennis Smith Jr. rather than Frank Ntilikina. Smith Jr. has of course been lighting up the league, which means LeBron is certainly not wrong — but the context of this irked the Knicks, especially Enes Kanter.  The game was certainly chippy and this scuffle between Kanter and LeBron occurred in the first quarter.

The Knicks dominated most of the game and according to ESPN, had a 99.2% chance of winning with a 75-56 lead towards the end of the third quarter. However, the Knicks did what they do best and found a way to lose to Cleveland — which prompted the below instagram post by LeBron after the game.

I absolutely love the move. The only thing missing from LeBron’s game is that villain aspect. For years, he has tried to play the nice guy role when he should be taking Kobe’s lead and play with the villain mentality. He was at peak-LeBron when he was on the Heat and everybody hated him. Hopefully, this is a sign of things to come because the nice guy image is not working.

The Funniest Thing You’ll See Today: Jimmy Butler

 

Laugh out loud funny stuff from Jimmy Butler on a canoe. He’s been having a solid season out in Minnesota but is clearly not a fan out the outdoors. He’s wearing two life jackets and still manages to let out the loudest screech possible. The absolute kicker is when you find out that he’s only in ankle-deep water.

 

Office Chatter Episode 3

The Office Chatter gang (minus one) sits down to discuss this past weekend in the NFL, if the Rams are a serious threat, Ben McAdoo being absolutely clueless, hot takes on Jameis Winston & Travis Kelce, MLB Free Agency, if the Celtics will ever lose a game again, and more. Audio is a little spotty due to technical difficulties but we made the most out of it.

 

 

Roy Halladay Passes Away in Plane Crash

Awful news coming at the end of the afternoon today that broke. Roy Halladay, the beloved retired pitcher for the Blue Jays and Phillies, has passed away today in a plane crash. His private plane crashed in the Gulf of Mexico. There aren’t many more details at this time but he was only 40 years old and is survived by his wife and two children. Sad stuff and the pouring of shock and devastation is coming from all athletes. RIP to a legend.

 

LiAngelo Ball Arrested in China for Shoplifting

Not a good day to be a Big Baller. LiAngelo Ball is locked up over in China — which I can’t assume is going to be easy to get out of. There’s no further details to what they shoplifted but not a good look to LaVar and the family. Lavar has gone on record saying that ‘Gelo is probably the least likely to make the NBA — essentially throwing him under the bus. I’m not sure what Gelo would be shoplifting as these kids are only supposed to be sporting BBB. I hate to give any attention to the Ball family,  but I cannot wait to hear what Lavar has to say about this. Most likely, he’ll deflect it and just talk about Lonzo’s next game or something but I will be waiting.

Or maybe Lavar wanted this to happen so we continue to talk about the Ball family even when you think there is absolutely nothing to talk about. Either way, not a good look for the Big Ballers and I have to imagine UCLA will hand out some short of suspension which is not great this close to the start of the season.

Jameis Winston With An All-Time Pregame Speech

Things are going south in Tampa Bay fast. After a predicted NFC South champion by most media outlets, the Bucs find themselves at 2-6 in a suddenly stacked division. Hopes are definitely low and according to some people, the team has already quit.

The Saints game was definitely a chance for the Bucs to bounce back but before the game, Winston tried to rally his troops.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BbH7LBCDSky/?taken-by=thecheckdown

I’m a huge Jameis Winston guy — but this was embarrassing. Nobody had any clue what the hell he was doing. DeSean Jackson has never looked more confused in his life in the background. Winston, of course, did not finish this game due to injury, looked horrible in the first half, and started a fight that ultimately sees Mike Evans suspended for one game. Tampa lost 30-10 and somehow Ryan Fitzpatrick manages to find himself starting on yet another team.

Winston needs to focus on his performance on the field and stop trying to have a gimmick pregame speeches. To add insult to injury, Golden Tate even had something to say.

 

Not a good look Jameis.

Texans’ Outlook Post-Watson Injury

Terrible news swept through Houston right after the Astros won the World Series — their star rookie QB Deshaun Watson tore his ACL in practice on Thursday afternoon. There were some rumblings that he had first injured his knee in the Seattle game but the tear officially happened on a non-contact injury during practice.

Houston was only 3-4 on the season but the rookie was lighting it up and beloved by fans of the NFL — because who can hate on the Texans offense? He had just put up 38 points against the daunted Legion of Boom before having the game slip away in the last minute. As soon as this news broke, the Texans season was done. Obviously having to overcome the injuries to JJ Watt and Whitney Mercilus were no joke but atleast they had a QB that could sling the ball. Watson was well on his way to a Rookie of the Year award with the slowing down of Kareem Hunt and ACL injury to Dalvin Cook but now looks like he’ll be joining Cook in that category.

Tom Savage took the ball on Sunday’s game against the Colts and looked HORRENDOUS.  The Colts, who have only won against the winless Browns and 49ers, were able to go into Houston and get the W. Don’t forget the Colts are led by arguably one of the most incompetent coaches in Chuck Pagano and still managed to let Houston have a chance in this game. Savage was able to bring them to 4th & Goal at the end of the game but ultimately failed to find DeAndre Hopkins in the endzone.  A line of 19-44 with 219 yds and 1 TD (no interceptions though!) is just not going to get the job done. The ceiling for the Texans was probably the same it was every year — one win in the playoffs and then a loss to a real contender but this one hurts alot. Watson also tore his ACL in college but was able to lead Clemson to two national championship games (one title). We know he can bounce back but for the short-term, it’s going to be ugly in Houston.

 

Buffalo Adds Kelvin Benjamin

Big news out of Buffalo last week, when they traded for Carolina’s #1 receiver Kelvin Benjamin for a 3rd and 7th round pick. Benjamin, who was a huge talent at Florida State, hasn’t really impressed since coming into the NFL. The Panthers were hoping to find their perennial  #1 WR to pair up with Cam Newton but instead just found a big body with bad hands. The biggest news that had revolved around Kelvin Benjamin was how fat he was when he showed up to training camp.

Image result for kelvin benjamin fat

He finished his last season as a Panther with 32 receptions for 475 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Not bad numbers definitely — but not what you want out of your #1 WR mid-season on a playoff contender. This move makes sense for the Bills but I’m still scratching my head on why the Panthers were so quick to give up on KB especially on a year that their main #1 target, Greg Olsen, is out with an injury. The Panthers seem to have enough trust in Funchess to wait out the storm until they get Olsen back.

For the Bills, this makes all the sense in the world — a team that is desperately trying to break the NFL’s longest standing playoff drought who actually look decent this year. They sit in second place in the AFC East with a 5-3 record but are only being carried by Shady McCoy. Tyrod Taylor has no weapons outside of rookie Zay Jones (who’s hardly a weapon). KB gives the Bills that big body and a potential #1 that teams need to respect rather than just stacking the box against McCoy. Although the Bills aren’t going to win the AFC East (because — well let’s be honest they have no shot), the wildcard is certainly in reach. They still have four divisional games to go (2 against the Patriots & the Dolphins) and a date with the Chiefs & Saints give them a tough finish to the season. It’ll be interesting to see how KB can stretch out defenses and we’ll see if they can hold onto that second wildcard spot.

Spoiler: They won’t — It’s Buffalo.