Miami vs Denver

worcester wrote:I can't wait to hear Ktron's take on Skip Thoughtless publicly invading Jimmy Butler's privacy.

Bayless has a history of doing these types of things. Remember the Chris Bosh family ordeal.
He’ll get away with his lowdown ways. ESPN will continue to encourage or look the other way.
Once the advertising community starts pushing back on ESPN, The Mothership will stop encouraging and instead look Skip in the eye as they walk him out.
(Don't hold your breath though)

https://deadspin.com/skip-bayless-jimmy-butler-miami-heat-espn-dan-le-batard-1850512141

The takes don’t get created by themselves, so I understand that it takes a lot for Skip Bayless to have enough of them to fill up a two-hour television program. However, speculating on how someone’s personal life is affecting their play is usually a bridge too far. That goes double when it’s information that the media is keeping to itself, but Bayless thought it proper to take some news about Jimmy Butler to air on Monday.

Apparently, Butler is having some issues in his personal life. Issues that the public did not know about before Bayless revealed them. On the Miami-based program The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz, Michael Ryan-Ruiz said that information has been known in local media for “some time,” but was kept unreported out of respect to Butler. That is until Bayless opined for 12 minutes about the Miami Heat’s 111-108 Game 2 victory. He was attempting to be sympathetic to Butler, but instead violated basic decency.

Bayless has been no stranger to these types of taboos throughout his career in sports media. His consistently doing so is why he gets no benefit of the doubt when he tweets about the ramifications of canceling an NFL game, in which Damar Hamlin’s heart stopped on live television. That could be considered insensitive, but the sports shows did very much cover the effect that calling off that game would have on the standings. The Cincinnati Bengals certainly weren’t happy about a potential coin-flip situation deciding home-field advantage in a playoff game, and they witnessed the entire Hamlin emergency in person.

Credibility still matters, unless you’re running for public office. Where Bayless has built up none throughout the years is when it comes to having respect for professional athletes. He too often resorts to name-calling, and espouses viewpoints that are more in line with how someone would discuss a meal as opposed to human beings.
The “Bosh Spice” days were a true low moment in sports media. Bayless was on the worldwide leader in sports using misogynistic (and arguably homophobic) language about a Black man. Then when that Black man looked him in the eye and told him that he and his family took offense to that nickname, Bayless looked right back at that man and said to play better if he didn’t want him to use it.


That was 12 years ago, but it tracks with Bayless’ whole career. In one of his books about the Dallas Cowboys, he wrote that Barry Switzer and others were speculating about Troy Aikman’s sexual preference in the 1990s. Bayless spent a few pages in the book discussing how he looked into the allegations, but what he was investigating was not newsworthy. It was salacious. No one should ever publicly speculate about another person’s sexual preference, but for a person with a background as a print journalist at major newspapers to do that shows a lack of ethics.
Bayless has explained how his “me against the world” approach to sports media was formed. He is the product of a family polluted with addiction. His own mother admitted to him that she never really wanted to have children. Once he got that scholarship to Vanderbilt, he was off to Nashville and never looked back. He has admitted that he has no relationship with his Michelin Star chef brother, Rick. Not only that, Bayless is married and has said repeatedly that his wife knows that his career always comes first.
Using a career to clothe the wounds caused by his childhood is certainly a way to go through life. The career has resulted in fame and fortune for Bayless. Maybe he doesn’t care that he is a widely loathed personality, but it does bother him that Charles Barkley has talked about wanting to do him physical harm for decades.
Also caused a major riff with co-host Shannon Sharpe
People shouldn’t attack each other, but that ideal behavior should be practiced both physically and verbally. That’s why Richard Sherman and Jalen Rose each went out of their way to bury Bayless on First Take many years back. The way that he talks about athletes can be rude and indecent, so he receives the same treatment in kind. It’s why his soon-to-be former co-host Shannon Sharpe was indignant at Bayless for taking a personal shot to try and win an unscored television debate about Tom Brady.


Bayless is a habitual line stepper, and he did it again on Monday with Butler. At 71 years old there is no reason to believe that it will stop, but the true cost of his actions is coming due. Sharpe is a rising star and leaving. Bayless is well known, but is only going to grow older and less relevant. As he reflects on the career and adult life that he got through the mud, he is going to have to live with a soiled reputation that he has earned all of the people that he has trampled along the way.

Skip Skip is my motto ehen it comes to watching TV sports commentary. He needs help is the kindest thing I can say about him, and you Ktron covered all the bases on the Skip Shameless topic. Thanks for your erudite and professional perspective.

Jokic and Murray just better, much better than the 2 Miami stars Butler and Bam. Both role players on both sides had pretty much terrible games, if only the Heat role players played like this against us? Butler and Bam had some good moments too, but nothing like the 2 30 point triple doubles from Joker and Murray. Joker put on a hulking Moses like clinic on the boards and showed a Bird like awareness and touch throughout a magnificent breathtaking performance just wearing out Bam.

cowens/oldschool wrote:Jokic and Murray just better, much better than the 2 Miami stars Butler and Bam. Both role players on both sides had pretty much terrible games, if only the Heat role players played like this against us? Butler and Bam had some good moments too, but nothing like the 2 30 point triple doubles from Joker and Murray. Joker put on a hulking Moses like clinic on the boards and showed a Bird like awareness and touch throughout a magnificent breathtaking performance just wearing out Bam.

I figured the Heat role players would come back to earth. Just our luck Martin had the 7 best games of his career against us. Last night he had 10 points, the other two games a combined total of 3 points. It still hurts me to watch this series. We were so much better than the Heat, but...............

I had an opportunity to watch the game last night.

Jokic is something else.  He makes Larry Bird look like LeBron James.  If you look at bigs who play a lot of minutes (so Human Victory Cigars like Boban Marjanovic don't count) he might be the least athletic big I've ever seen.  The only one that comes close, off the top of my head, might be Luis Scola.  The man whose agent called him the "best player in the NBA under the rim".  Yeah, that's because Scola couldn't jump high enough to go over it.  And I loved Scola, I'm not knocking him, but he didn't go over or around anybody.  Jokic shows that basketball isn't about running fast or jumping high, and that makes me very, very happy.

Jamal Murray playing like we hoped Jaylen would have, and that makes me very, very sad.


Bob


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worcester wrote:Skip Skip is my motto ehen it comes to watching TV sports commentary. He needs help is the kindest thing I can say about him, and you Ktron covered all the bases on the Skip Shameless topic. Thanks for your erudite and professional perspective.

Yessir! “Skip Skip” I likes that!!

Jokic be like…

Ktron wrote:Jokic be like…

Wow, he has him down cold!

Bruce Brown coming up wicked big for the Nuggets!

Duncan Robinson has become much more than a three point shooter.

Nuggets up big and will go up 3-1.

Just want to say this is the most boring Finals I’be ever seen, a bunch of my other hoop friends are all saying Boston vs LA would have been so compelling and exciting.

I thought that myself BobC. Bruce Brown was impressive, I wish the Celts had made a move for him when he was available. This one is over, except for the crying

Barring a complete meltdown on Monday, this will qualify as a Gentleman's Sweep which is a nice way to say you won one by accident/grace of God and really should have been swept like the Lakers in the previous round who clearly didn't belong in the WCF.

I'm still really po'ed at us for not being in the Finals, especially after being down 0-3 and playing G7 at home. We certainly would have given DEN much more of challenge but we will never know for all the reasons we've gone over.

Well, hiring Cassell was a great first move for Boston right out of the gate. Hopefully more good news to follow.

db

dbrown - how many serious injuries did we have to key players? Four. Jayson, Malcolm, Grant, and JB. When JB has a punctured hand whose bleeding is hard to stem, that's a serious injury. When Jayson has to limp, that's a serious injury. When Grant has a torn ligament like Malcolm, those are serious injuries, Those aren't about playing through pain. Those indicate a loss of function. Considering all that, we were within a game of the Finals. That's why I suggest we put away the dynamite and not blow up the team.

https://www.mmafighting.com/2023/6/10/23756619/report-conor-mcgregor-sends-miami-heat-mascot-to-er-after-stunt-goes-wrong



Report: Conor McGregor sends Miami Heat mascot to ER after stunt goes wrong


By Jed Meshew@JedKMeshew  Jun 10, 2023, 6:27pm EDT  1 Comment / 1 New



It appears that Conor McGregor still has that famed power.


On Friday evening, McGregor attended Game 4 of the NBA Finals between the Miami Heat and the Denver Nuggets, where he got into a staged altercation with Heat mascot “Burnie,” dropping the mascot with a left hand punch and then following up with one ground-and-pound shot. The scene was meant to be good-natured fun in promotion of a cryotherapy pain relief spray, but unfortunately, things didn’t end out so hot.

According to a report by The Athletic, one or both of McGregor’s punches ended up hurting Burnie to the point that the man inside the costume required real medical treatment, winding up in the emergency room.

Reportedly, the man injured in the incident received pain medication and was sent home, where he is doing well.





McGregor has not competed since his loss to Dustin Poirier in their trilogy bout at UFC 264, but is expected to make a return to action sometime this year in a fight against fellow The Ultimate Fighter 31 coach Michael Chandler.


Bob
MY NOTE:  When things go South (Beach) for Miami they really go south.  The metaphors and snarky comments practically write themselves.  Seriously,  though, I hope he's alright.  I know I wouldn't want his job at that moment.


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dbrown4 wrote:Barring a complete meltdown on Monday, this will qualify as a Gentleman's Sweep which is a nice way to say you won one by accident/grace of God and really should have been swept like the Lakers in the previous round who clearly didn't belong in the WCF.  

I'm still really po'ed at us for not being in the Finals, especially after being down 0-3 and playing G7 at home.  We certainly would have given DEN much more of challenge but we will never know for all the reasons we've gone over.  

Well, hiring Cassell was a great first move for Boston right out of the gate.  Hopefully more good news to follow.  

db  

To be honest, I'm not sure how much better than Miami we would've fared against Denver. They're a well-built team. Jokic would still be doing his damage and we probably wouldn't make any adjustments to counter it anyway.


KJ

Just a small pet peeve I grew up in Miami. Te Heat play in Miami, not in effing South Beach. Miami Beach is not Miami and South Beach is the lower end of Miami Beach.Miami Beach is a small enclave of excess, much like Hollywood, Caifornia, which is not a city at all, but rather a section of Los Angeles. Hollywood Florida IS a city located between Miami and Fort Lauderdale. I lived there for a while. I think Lebron started all the South Beach nonsense when he said he was taking his talents there.No professional sport has ever been played anywhere on Miami Beach, where the primary activity is drinking til one falls down, between bumps of cocaine. I doubt that anyone but me cares about any of this, but I'm taking the opportunity to get this off my chest. And, oh yeah, Bayless is scum. His reaction to the Buffalo safety's heart stoppage was breathtakingly lacking in compassion.

Still think Boston would have been in the mix vs Denver.

Just think if Bruce Brown was on our team (signed the exact same 2 year deal as gallo)

I think Brad was looking for a stretch 4 who could play some center in our 5 out sets.

However Brown checks a few more boxes and he is only 26 years old.

Denver is going to win this series because the Miami zones do not bother them plus Denver has a lot more size.

jrleftfoot wrote:Just a small pet peeve I grew up in Miami. Te Heat play in Miami, not in effing South Beach. Miami Beach is not Miami and South Beach is the lower end of Miami Beach.Miami Beach is a small enclave of excess, much like Hollywood, Caifornia, which is not a city at all, but rather a section of Los Angeles. Hollywood Florida IS  a city located between Miami and Fort Lauderdale. I lived there for a while. I think Lebron started all the South Beach nonsense when he said he was taking his talents there.No professional sport has ever been played anywhere on Miami Beach, where the primary activity is drinking til one falls down, between bumps of cocaine. I doubt that anyone but me cares about any of this, but I'm taking the opportunity to get this off my chest. And, oh yeah, Bayless is scum. His reaction to the Buffalo safety's heart stoppage was breathtakingly lacking in compassion.  

As a fellow Floridian I've gotta thank you for this perceptive post JR. All of it. Especially about Skip the uncompassionate.

Denver out to a 12-5 lead in the first quarter. The Denver crowd is LOUD!

Going to be tough for Miami in this environment, but I’m not counting them out.

bobc33 wrote:Denver out to a 12-5 lead in the first quarter.  The Denver crowd is LOUD!

Going to be tough for Miami in this environment, but I’m not counting them out.

Heat best players Jimmy and Bam missing bunnies, Heat look tired to me already

Bam is digging deep and playing well. Miami up 7 at the half.

Poor Jimmy having a tough bad game, just doesn’t have it mostly all night 2-12 FG. Heat are only in it because of terrible FT shooting by Nuggets.

My first time ever complaining about the officials.

That was the worst call in the history of the NBA. Butler kicks a guy in the balls and Butler gets three free throws!!

Nuggets win! Deservedly so.

Old friend Jeff Green is an NBA Champion.

Miami fought to the end, a heck of a playoffs for them.

Nice job by Denver taking their first title.

Jokic building his legacy among all time NBA bigs adding his Championship MVP and team title to his pair of season MVP awards.