Kentavious Caldwell-Pope Sentenced to 25 Days in Jail

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope was sentenced to a 25 day jail sentence for violating his probation stemming from a driving under the influence charge last March.

Somehow, he has been granted a work release which will allow him to practice and play games for the Los Angeles Lakers. According to the courts, he is not allowed to leave the state of California, so he will miss the Lakers games against Houston and Minnesota, but play against Golden State.

This is an absolute joke — how does Caldwell-Pope violate his probation, get sentenced to 25 days in jail and be allowed to practice and play games for the Lakers. Under no circumstance should he be allowed to play while serving jail time. He should serve his time without work release or don’t give him any jail time at all.

I guess it’s true, the Lakers really do rule LA…

Seattle?

For those keeping score at home there is some big hockey news coming out of Seattle. The NHL has opened up Expansion talks with Seattle most notably. They were they only City eligible to apply this season.

On December 7th an ownership group was notified that they’d be able apply. The team would likely cost upwards of $650 million dollars, and would begin playing in the 2020-21 season. This will be sad news for those residing in Quebec City, QC. Fans up there have been pushing for a Nordiques return since Atlanta relocated to Winnipeg.

Seattle is probably a lock to get in if I’m being honest. You aren’t getting approval to apply if you aren’t expected to be approved. Seattle has a hockey history that many are unaware of largely because they don’t have an NHL team. They have an arena in place as well (Key Arena).

As mentioned above there is a strong-ish hockey history in Seattle. They have the Spokane Chiefs and Seattle Thunderbirds, who play in Canada’s Western Hockey League (WHL). This league is Major Junior, where most players play to improve draft stock.

I think the market is perfect for the NHL’s next expansion team. It’s not like trying to expand into Arizona or Florida. The Seattle area is certainly a hockey hot bed, and despite what the NHL tells you, both the Florida Panthers and Arizona Coyotes are massive failures. They are failures in completely dead markets.

Hopefully, there will be news on this as we enter the new year. Generally it is a lengthy process. Vegas was 1-2 years in the making. Seattle has been granted access to step 1. Interested to see where it goes from here.

^ So far the two best jersey concepts I’ve seen for Seattle. Intriguing options to say the least.

Office Chatter Radio: Fake Rules & Non-Catches

The Office Chatter boys are back minus one per usual to take on Week 15 in the NFL. The Catch Rule strikes again and Cam Newton is literally playing Madden on the field. Tyler has an absurd rule for touchbacks in the end-zone. Case Keenum is still Case Keenum. Our bold predictions segment returns  — maybe a win for everyone’s favorite 0-14 team? We finish up with our Jackass of the Week — with a controversial choice from Danny.

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Last Week’s Episode

Indians Sign Yonder Alonso

The Cleveland Indians have filled their void at First Base by signing Yonder Alonso. The deal is for two years at $16 million, with an $8 million vesting option for a third year.

Although this move isn’t a big splash, the Indians get a comparable player to Carlos Santana at a bargain price. Santana signed with the Philadelphia Phillies for 3 years $60 million.

Last year, Alonso hit 28 HR and 67 RBI’s with a .266 BA, while Santana hit 23 HR and 79 RBI’s with a .259 BA.

Again, not a big splash but atleast there is no real drop off in production and you get him for a third of the cost.

Semi-Truck Crashes into Pool of Blazers’ Evan Turner

In Portland, Oregon a semi-truck hauling a large trash bin lost control and tumbled into the swimming pool of the home owned by Portland Trail Blazers Evan Turner.

According to police, the truck driver lost control on a hairpin curve and ended up plunging down a hill before crashing into Turner’s pool.

At this time the driver, who was not identified, sustained serious injures and was taken to the Oregon Health and Science University Medical Center for treatment.

Based on Turners’ comments it appears as though he was not home at the time of the incident.

Turner was asked about the situation following  the Trail Blazers loss to the Spurs, “I wasn’t aware that the driver was injured or how badly,” Turner said Wednesday afternoon through a team spokesman. “But I’m obviously grateful that the first responders were able to rescue him and I hope and pray he’ll be fine.”

 

Lane Kiffin Signs Ten-Year Extension with Florida Atlantic

What is coming off as a surprise to most people, Lane Kiffin has extended his contract with Florida Atlantic to stick around for another ten whole years. While he most likely won’t stay for the entire time, this type of deal should not be taken lightly. When he left for FAU, most people were under the impression that he would stick around for a couple of years, and then head back to a Power Five Conference. That does not seem to be the case.

lane

Already a potent offense before his arrival, FAU has an opportunity here to make a true impact on the College Football landscape. Since his arrival to FAU, out-of-state applications for the university have gone up by 35%, which just goes to show you that not only will Lane bring in more talent for the football team, but more brand recognition for the school.

FAU absolutely demolished Akron the other night in the Boca Raton Bowl. Many people criticized Lane when they went for two up 31 points in the third quarter. Kiffin fired back by saying an Akron athletics official was talking trash before the game, and that it was “his bad”. Absolutely love the move. Akron never stood a chance, so not too sure why one of their athletic officials would think that’s a good idea.

I am very curious to see what type of recruiting class Lane can bring in for the upcoming years. Do we have a new best team within the state of Florida? Only time will tell. If you haven’t already, it’s time to hop aboard the Lane Train.

lane3

Fighting in Hockey: A Necessary Paradox

In recent years, the NHL news has comprised of the McDavid vs Eichel and Matthews vs Laine. But with recent pressure from other professional sports league, the NHL has been faced with the negative press of the negative side effects of multiple concussions in a physical sport such as hockey.

The NHL response to this was to take steps to eliminate fighting all together from the game. The debate has been waged for years “Does fighting in hockey actually make the game safer?” In an article published by The Hockey News in November 2013, the players themselves think that fighting does in fact act as thermostat for the game. Columbus Blue Jackets enforcer, Jared Boll,  was quoted in the article stating “I think you’d see more [cheapshots] by people being dumb on the ice and running around and knowing that they don’t have to face anyone or answer the bell if they do something stupid”.

Now by all means in my playing career I was not going to be the next Crosby or Ovechkin — so in order to try and peruse my dream I took up the role of being an enforcer. Was I worried about the consequences of getting punched in head repeatedly? Of course I was. If you aren’t then there are bigger questions. But what drove me to continue was seeing the impact my presence alone had not only on my teammates but the opposing team. I knew full well by going up to Canada to play Juniors that I would be fighting guys bigger and more experienced, but how one deals with fear is as personal as their choice of equipment.

Ask any skill player if they feel more comfortable playing on a team with an enforcer or one without. Hands down they will tell you they want that kind of player in the locker next to them. By having an enforcer, it allows the skill players to have more room on the ice than normal. Look at Gretzky, he had McSorley and Semenko. Without them there is no Great One. Enforcers are some of the hardest working and most loyal individuals you will ever meet. This is evident by our willingness to sacrifice ourselves for the good of others. If fighting is eliminated players’ careers will be cut much shorter than they are now.

 

 

The Islanders are Headed Home

 

Some major news coming out of the NHL yesterday. News broke that the New York Islanders will be returning to Nassau County, Long Island. It has been two years since they moved to the Barclays Center in disgusting Brooklyn.

It has been two disastrous years since moving from their longtime home, Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum out on Long Island.

Nassau Coliseum was completely run-down, and the county would not build the team a new stadium. In 2013, it was announced that the team would move to Brooklyn at the start of the 2016-17 season. It was a nightmare. The arena is built specifically for basketball, so hockey sight-lines are miserable.

The above pictures say it all. Brooklyn may help you reach a wider audience marketing wise, but they lost a major portion of their fan base. Watching the Isles play is strange at the Barclays. There is no atmosphere. It is a very cookie cutter environment, which is a shame. The Islanders’ old stadium was a fucking dump, but it had everything Barclay’s doesn’t. It has atmosphere and charm. Two elements that make a great arena.

The Isles are one of the proudest franchises in the NHL like it or not. Back in the 1980’s, they went on a run that won’t be repeated. They won four Stanley Cups in a row from 1980-84. They were known for having rabid fans looking to get out of the shadow of the New York Rangers.

A huge chunk of their history was ripped away the second the Islanders moved to Brooklyn. This move back will hopefully bring back one of the leagues most intense fan bases.

Now, this new barn will not have the same charm the Colisuem had (it was a complete fucking dump) but it’s a start. Congrats Isles fans!!!

Ex-NBA Player Charlie Villanueva has Toilet and Appliances Stolen

This will be the most bizarre story you hear all day, former NBA player Charlie Villanueva took to Twitter to complain about his Dallas home being burglarized. The thieves took off with what you would expect appliances, jewelry, etc — but this is where the story gets good, they also stole his toilet.

For Charlie’s sake, I hope he gets his toilet back. You just don’t steal another man’s toilet. Plain and simple.

 

LaVar Ball is Starting the “Big Baller League”

The most electrifying man in sports .. that isn’t in sports is back again! LaVar Ball has now come up with the outrageous idea of starting a basketball league for high school grads that don’t want to attend college. Stripping kids of free tuition to earn 10,000 a month playing for the Big Baller league. Amazing. I don’t know where this guy comes up with his ideas but he’s managed to become one of the biggest news stories of 2017 and to that I must tip the cap.

Ball’s Junior Basketball Association, which he says is fully funded by his Big Baller Brand, plans to pay the lowest-ranked player a salary of $3,000 a month and the best player $10,000 a month, Ball said. Ball is looking for 80 players to fill 10 teams that will seek to play at NBA arenas in Los Angeles, Dallas, Brooklyn and Atlanta.

However, the idea that he can essentially replace the NCAA is outrageous. Sure, the kids will earn up to  $10,000 a month but let’s be honest some of the kids at the bigger schools are probably being paid under the table. High school grads will undoubtedly be stupid for forgoing a chance at a free education just to play in LaVar Ball’s league but will it actually work? I can’t see this actually working.

However, players have gone overseas and came back to the NBA and found some success. If LaVar can strike a TV deal — can this actually work? The fact that we’re even considering the possibility of this just goes to show how powerful LaVar Ball has become. It’s absurd. If he can manage to snag one highly touted recruit, this does have potential to become successful.

The logo for the league features a silhouette of his son Lonzo, who plays for the Los Angeles Lakers, going to the hoop for a dunk.

“We don’t need a logo of a guy dribbling,” Ball said, an obvious reference to the NBA’s famous Jerry West silhouette. “Nobody does that anymore.”

Lonzo going for a dunk as the logo? LaVar’s troll game has literally reached new levels. 2018 will be the year of the XFL and the BBL and to be honest, I can’t even hate on it.