Here, There And Everywhere…

Today will be a clean-up of odds and ends on my clipboard. Any continuity from item to item is purely coincidental…

Kevin Durant ended what seemed to be endless speculation about where he will play basketball next season by announcing that he will sign a 2-year deal with the Golden State Warriors. This announcement raises one question in my mind:

Are there enough shots in a game to go around among Durant, Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green? We shall find out next year…

This announcement puts to rest various speculations about where Kevin Durant may have chosen to play. Let me try to explain why some of those outcomes did not happen:

Why not the Lakers? Well, in the last three seasons the Lakers have lost 55 games, then 61 games, then 65 games. That is not a good trend. Moreover, it means that in the past three seasons the Lakers have won a total of 65 games; the Warriors won 73 last year alone.

Why not the Knicks? It is impolite to answer a question with a question but I will do so anyway. Who would want to play for that hot mess of a team?

Why not the Wizards (in his home town)? Look at the Wizards roster; there are no certified star players there. Durant could not win with Russell Westbroook and a decent frontcourt in OKC; why would anyone think he might win with John Wall as his running-buddy and a less competent front court? Ka-beesh?

I somehow missed the following comment from Brad Dickson but Gregg Drinnan caught it and put it in his Keeping Score column. It is pertinent to the recent NBA championship won by the Cavaliers:

“With people in Cleveland rushing to see a sculpture of Cavaliers leader LeBron James that is made out of dryer lint, Brad Dickson of the Omaha World-Herald wrote: ‘You have over five decades to prepare, and this is what you come up with?’”

Joey Chestnut won the Nathan’s Hot Dog eating contest downing 70 hot dogs – and their buns – in 10 minutes. Ignoring the gastric distress of the moments following that feat and the impending intestinal distress on the next day, consider the “nutritional value” of 70 Nathan’s Hot Dogs:

1260 grams of fat
19,600 calories – not counting the 70 hot dog buns
800 calories from fat – 64% of caloric intake from fat
FDA “guidance” is to keep fat intake to 25-30% of ingested calories

Why do we celebrate gluttony on Independence Day?

There was a report that a disembodied human foot washed ashore in Rio de Janeiro right near where the beach volleyball competitions will take place in the Olympics next month. Just guessing here, but if an errant shot rolls down near the water line, no one is likely to say,

“Give me a hand, here…”

Greg Cote had this comment about the upcoming Games in Rio in the Miami Herald last weekend:

“The Rio Olympics begin in one month. And, really, other than the threat of Zika virus and crime, the unfinished facilities, bacteria-riddled water, athlete withdrawals, doping suspensions and body parts washing ashore, everything is looking good.”

The 2016 Olympic Games have not yet begun but there is already sponsorship news about the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. Brad Dickson of the Omaha World-Herald had this item in a recent column:

“There is already an official toilet of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. I’m just glad sport isn’t overly commercialized.”

If for some reason you actually care enough about this to want more information, here is a link about the partnership between the Tokyo organizing committee and the toilet company.

Back in April Loyola University faced a problem on its women’s basketball team. Most of the players either quit or applied for a transfer citing harassment from their coach, Sheryl Swoopes. The university hired outside investigators and after several months of sleuthing, Loyola fired Sheryl Swoopes over the weekend. The Chicago Tribune has been on top of this story from the beginning; here is a link to their recent coverage.

Iceland’s hope of being the Cinderella of Euro 2016 ended over the weekend with a 5-2 loss to France in the tournament. The Icelandic team played hard for the entire game but France simply had better players on the pitch; the score was reflective of the game as a whole. Not to worry, however, there is a Cinderella still in the “Final Four” of Euro 2016:

Wales – a team that had last won a game in a major international competition back in 1958 – will play Portugal and the winner of that game will be in the Final Game for Euro 2016.

The other semi-final game will match France and Germany.

Finally, since I cited a Greg Cote comment above, let me close with another of his observations here:

“Colts sign Andrew Luck to richest deal in NFL history, worth up to $140 million through 2021. Imagine if he weren’t coming off his worst season!?”

But don’t get me wrong, I love sports………