LaVar Ball is Back at it Again

He’s back in the headlines. Lavar Ball has touted his son(s) as the best player(s) in the world. His outspokenness has begun to strike an unfavorable cord with the public. Some would say he’s doing too much and is only hurting his children’s future. While others praise his dedication to his brand and energy he spends on his sons.

On The Herd, Ball is being interviewed by Colin Cowherd. While discussing his Big Baller Brand and the number of shoes sold, co-host Kristine Leahy was sure to voice her displeasure with the brand. Leahy gave her great advice that “…in order to have a successful company, you’re going to have women who like your brand,” and Lavar was ready to respond with “…yeah if you have a women’s company.”

Of course, after his comments the internet made their own interpretation that Lavar is being “disrespectful to women”. I don’t think Lavar was disrespectful at all. Women may just not be in his target demographic. What’s wrong with that?

People these days are uber-sensitive. So sensitive that it’s rubbing off on our sports. Basketball these days is a watered down version of what he was accustomed to years ago. Same could be said for a lot of things.

Many people don’t like the ones who are candid and forthright. Let’s water down how we think so it’s easy to digest. Lavar Ball is many things. He’s obnoxious, he’s arrogant, he’s outspoken, and there’s no question that he loves his children (even if it’s in faux-Joe Jackson type of way).

Let the man sell his brand. Everyone wants to feel included, but life isn’t about “inclusion”. We live in a world where there’s supposedly hundreds of genders and the “Woman of the Year” was born a man. That’s pretty much why ~~Bruce~~ Caitlyn Jenner won the award. It’s a confusing time to live in.

Get off Lavar’s back. I’m pretty sure if the tables were turned and a woman said that her company “wasn’t for men” there wouldn’t be much of a problem. But, because he’s a man and is not including women in his target market – we have a problem.

I think the real issue here is that the man is selling a $495 shoe for a player who has not stepped foot in NBA. He hasn’t even been drafted yet. Who knows if Lonzo Ball is the second coming of Darko Miličić or the next Jason Kidd? That seems to be the only issue here.

NBA Playoff Basketball At Its Finest

Why Playoff Basketball is the Best

If the recent antics and storylines aren’t enough to persuade you that playoff basketball is where it’s at, then I don’t know what will. From the rough play in the Celtics and Wizards series to the Big 4 doing damage in Golden State there’s no shortage of intriguing gameplay.

The marvelous Russell Westbrook show has come to an end and Paul Pierce has stepped off the court the last time as a player. The battle of MVP trophy aka the Rockets-Thunder series proved to be a showcase of “WOW”. Westbrook went to work, displaying why he’s a finalist in the race for the MVP trophy. But James Harden wasn’t going to allow an old teammate to send him home packing early. Instead, Harden sustained his claim to the MVP trophy.

It’s difficult to think of any team – not named Cleveland – that can thwart the Golden State Warriors. They successfully took away the chances of any other team in the west succeeding by obtaining Kevin Durant. They don’t need him. They’re just as dangerous without him. The Warriors knew his added star power on another team could result in a slightly challenging road to the Finals. So why not lure one of the top 5 players in the league with grandeur of hoisting a championship trophy?

The Celtics began the playoffs on a somber note. Isiah Thomas suffered a heart breaking loss. The Bulls came in and conquered briefly. Rajon Rondo became injured, Dwayne Wade’s age began to show, and Jimmy Butler’s greatness could not withstand the gritty Celtics.

The Wizards have the swagger of their starting point guard, John Wall. A team that plays with a chip on their shoulder. They’re a rough bunch of players. In a league plagued by “soft play”, they epitomize the style of ball played years ago. Their rugged play was too much for the Atlanta Hawks.

Round Two

Now we’re onto round two. The Cavaliers quickly handled the Indiana Pacers, the San Antonio Spurs used their experience and their own MVP candidate, Kawai Leonard to fend off the pesky Grizzlies. And Utah is back to their old ways and winning in the playoffs. Here are a few intriguing storylines to look at during the second round of the NBA Playoffs:

The Varsity – JV Series. The Cleveland Cavaliers are up against the Toronto Raptors. Rematch of last year’s conference finals. This year the Raptors have a few new additions (Serge Ibaka and P.J. Tucker) along with many familiar faces. One would think that the outcome would be a competitive series. In place of a competitive series, we’ve been subjected to watch as LeBron James and the Cavaliers treat the Raptors like the JV team. If DeRozan can’t lend a supporting hand against the Cavaliers then it’s all up to Kyle Lowry. With all due respect, Lowry can’t do it on his own. Expect to see more of Cleveland pounding Toronto if DeRozan remains M.I.A.

Kelly & Kelly. Old school basketball was a game where the tough ruled. Imagine if the Bad Boys played today. They’d be in the penalty within 2 minutes. The game has been toned down. Softer – for lack of a better word. That’s why the Celtics and Wizards series is intriguing. Kelly Olynyk – the same man who took down Kevin Love – set a hard screen on Kelly Oubre Jr. of the Wizards. Next thing you know, a rattled Oubre is charging towards Olynyk and what ensues is an ejected Oubre and Washington team that fed off the energy of the altercation. If you missed the squabble, you can see it here: Kelly vs. Kelly. Don’t think that Oubre Jr. was only upset with the hard screen. The hard screen was the essentially the
“straw that broke the donkey’s back”. A man can only take so much. Look for more physicality in this series as the Wizards look to tie things up.

Parker-less Spurs. The Spurs are good. They’ve been good for at least the past 18 years. This year they don’t have Big Fundamental in Tim Duncan. No worries. Kawai Leonard picked up the slack. After a challenging Memphis Grizzlies series, the Spurs were up against a run-n-gun team in the Houston Rockets. Things didn’t look good in game one for the Spurs. Game two was a different story. The Spurs played inspired basketball and were able to tie the series. Unfortunately, they lost their starting veteran guard Tony Parker. Question is, can the Spurs survive the loss of Parker or will they run out of steam before reaching the finish line?

Golden Boys. It’s tough trying stop the Golden State Warriors. Once you think you’ve got them solved, they hit you with another surprise. Utah squeaked by the Los Angeles Clippers but the talent the Warriors bring to the court outmatches the talent brought by the Clippers, especially when Blake Griffin went down. Utah simply has to hope for a bad shooting performance. An off day in Golden State could mean victory for Utah but that’s just one game. Draymond will continue with the trash talk and Golden State will continue to light the nets on fire.

Seeing the same team – game after game – will make tensions flare. The emotional carryover from game to game can either make or break a team. But I’ll stand on a limb – a pretty strong limb – and say that we’re in for a familiar final series. Cleveland and Golden State look primed to represent the Eastern and Western conferences. Unless there’s a storyline that we don’t know of yet. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Bomani Jones and the Name Game

I woke up this morning and did my daily morning ritual of looking up the sports news from the day before. Bomani Jones, co-host of the Highly Questionable show on ESPN, angered many viewers yesterday with his choice of apparel.

Jones decided to wear a Cleveland Caucasians shirt during the airing of Highly Questionable. People were up in arms over this. Twitter went chaotic, speaking on how Bomani Jones was a racist and his poor lack of judgement wearing the shirt.

Some argued that if a white man wore a shirt saying “Cleveland Negroes” then it would be lambasted all over the social media world. He’d be automatically labeled a “racist”. Correct? I believe so. But there is a major difference between Bomani Jones’ shirt and a “Cleveland Negroes” shirt.

According to Merriam Webster dictionary, Caucasian is “of, constituting, or characteristic of a race of humankind native to Europe, North Africa, and southwest Asia and classified according to physical features —used especially in referring to persons of European descent having usually light skin pigmentation”. It simply refers to a person of light skin color being of European descent (or of North African or southwest Asian descent). There’s no derogatory history behind the word “Caucasian”.

Now when you try to flip the script and say “What if…” you have to look at the meaning of the words. Let’s be fair. Let’s look into the definition of negro. A negro is “a member of a race of humankind native to Africa and classified according to physical features (as dark skin pigmentation).” Same as Caucasian, right?

The word “negro” has many negative implications throughout American history. Just as the “F-word” is one of the most vulgar words in the English language is basically an acronym for Fornication Under The Crowned King. Even though the word is more-or-less an acronym it is considered extremely offensive and vulgar.

Bomani Jones’ shirt is a parody on the actual name of the Cleveland baseball team, The Cleveland Indians. The Native American namesake or characteristics are a common sight in sports in the United States. There is the Washington Redskins, Chicago Blackhawks and numerous college teams that attribute their name to Native Americans. Granted, many collegiate teams have changed their nicknames but there are others who haven’t.

Let’s be honest, Bomani Jones was not wearing the shirt to show his fashion sense but his intentions were to rile the public. He knew A LOT of people would find the shirt offensive but his point was made. What’s the difference between wearing a Cleveland Indians shirt or a Cleveland Caucasians shirt? The number of people affected.

The Native American population is certainly not as large as the Caucasian population in the states. More noise can be made when something offends the majority rather than the minority. Jones’ shirt was no different than a Cleveland Blacks or Cleveland Arabs shirt. It raised the question of, “is this offensive?”

Personally, I believe naming a team after a ethnicity or race of people is wrong. Obviously, people would be upset if the shoes were on the other foot and their race or ethnicity was being mocked. Don’t you think the Native Americans feel the same way?