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will-work-for-music · 7 years ago

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* 2017 ALBUMS OF THE YEAR

two thousand + seventeen birthed fantastic records that found me like friends, over + over again. these masterpieces lead me to people + experiences on adventures far better than i could have dreamed. these collections songs kept me company through the highest highs, the lowest lows + the walking in between of this year marked by hardship + madness, for most of the world. these are the tunes i smiled + screamed + cried + danced to the most, this year. i’m wildly grateful for each artist + the remarkable melody-wrapped memories they’ve gifted me. here’s to the songs that stay. 🖤

loved in no particular order:

* LOVELY LITTLE LONELY - the maine

brilliant + poetic + free. this band has been liberating me since i was seventeen. before lovely little lonely was even born i jumped at the chance to celebrate 10 years of this band of brothers who’ve grown up alongside their family of fans. to truly live the lyric: “let’s fall back in love with the world + who we are + do the things we talked about but never did before..” i’m grateful to the maine for adventures i only ever dreamed + for the soundtrack to them all.. she’s a masterpiece.

* THE SEARCH FOR EVERYTHING - john mayer

“And that ends an era. August ‘14-April ’17. I made this record for *you*. May you hear and see and feel yourself in these songs.” 🌊♥️🌊 - @johnmayer

she’s stunning from beginning to end.. i kept telling everyone this show felt like experiencing a film.. it’s surely safe to say JM has made another stellar, artistic set of songs for the soundtrack of my life. wow, wow, wow.. as he kept saying to us, “thank you, thank you, thank you.”

“[On The search for everything, Mayer] succeeds because he’s not donning a new costume: instead, he’s settling into a groove he can claim as his own, and it feels like he’s at home.” - AllMusic

* HARRY STYLES - harry styles

(on album release day) every once in awhile, a record comes along that surprises you in a great way. as i put it to my best friend, [on release day].. “oops, i think i like harry’s album.” THE cameron crowe recently wrote a truly stunning, intriguing rolling stone cover story with styles as the subject.. (the cover that my mom thought featured “a young mick jagger,” without a clue about the previous week’s SNL sketch, ha). as someone who was never into one direction (sorry, rob sheffield), i likely wouldn’t have given this album a shot, but it’s everything you wouldn’t expect to hear in a “former pop star” solo record. thanks to two of my favorite writers (rob sheffield, who penned the RS review like only he can, + crowe) for encouraging me to see harry for more than the kid from the boy band.. as crowe put it (on the RS music now podcast), “he’s a music geek, in the best way..” his love of classic rock shines through, while still capturing a sound all his own. well done, HS. “from the dining table” + “two ghosts” are early favorites.. which i chose just before ryan adams tweeted it.

Rolling Stone’s Rob Sheffield put HS at number 3 on his 2017 album list: “What a revelation to see Styles live the same week as Paul McCartney – a tutorial on the connection between joy and brilliance. So is this album. The songs are built to last, standing up to months of ridiculously heavy listening. The only rock star who can come on like Macca and Mick at the same time. The only rock star who could earn all six minutes of "Sign of the Times.” The only rock star using his hard-won artistic freedom to craft the kind of hilariously anti-commercial old-school personal statement where every song counts, making big guitar moves everybody else this year was too timid to try. The only rock star who thinks cigarettes in New York are “cheap.” The only rock star.“

* PRISONER - ryan adams

"i think ‘prisoner’ has so much more hope + sensuality in it—to me, it’s liberating. those songs are more a celebration of becoming something as it’s broken apart.”

a note to ryan, as tour came to a close:

i feel the most alive inside of these songs.. the ones that break me open + somehow heal me, all at once. RA, i know this time out on the road stole your health + your joy, at times, but the wonder with which you kept playing was magic to witness. i’m grateful for your pursuit of growth + grace, no matter what comes your way. be it bronchitis, haters or heartbreak, you never let anything keep you down. thank you for not one, but two flawless dates in two sparkling cities on the prisoner tour. rest up + stay weird.. xo

* ONLY THE LONELY - colony house

just shy of two weeks into 2017, franklin, tennessee born + bred band of brothers colony house released a creative, impactful collection of songs for the soul. the rocknroll band’s strong sophomore effort landed them spots in the year’s finest festivals across the country (homegrown pilgrimage fest, chicago’s lollapalooza, new orleans’ voodoo experience). it will be exciting to see where these driving, honest story songs take them in the coming year.

* WONDERFUL WONDERFUL - the killers

the fifth studio album from brandon flowers + co has been called their strongest in over a decade. the frontman said the lead single, “the man,” was written through the lens of what his 20-something self thought it was to be a man..“being tough + bringing home the bacon, when really it’s about being compassionate + empathetic.”

For NME, Flowers shared that the lyrics of the album are “the most personal and bare” that he has ever been: “I’m looking in the mirror on this record and focusing a lot on my own personal experiences. Instead of just drawing upon all these experiences and maybe using them in other songs, I am going straight for it with this and singing about my life and my family and that’s something different for me.” The track “Rut” was inspired by the struggle of Flowers’ wife Tana with PTSD. He said: “Usually I feel protective of her but I decided to take it head on. So 'Rut’ is about her submitting to it. That doesn’t mean that she’s gonna let it beat her, but rather that she’s gonna finally acknowledge that it’s there and promise to break this cycle.” Flowers also added that putting his wife’s battle into a song helped him understand better what she is going through. “Have All the Songs Been Written?” was originally the subject line of an email Brandon Flowers sent to Bono, in the midst of a bout of writer’s block, before the latter suggested it would make an excellent song title.“

'wonderful wonderful’ is altogether driving + poignant + strong, intricately crafted for the artist + his listener.

* METAPHYSICAL - the technicolors

as soon as i experienced the technicolors–friends/labelmates/co-creators of the maine–live, i knew they would be in my life from that day forward. it seemed previous projects couldn’t quite capture the passion + enthusiasm of that short set, so 2017’s "metaphysical” was highly anticipated by many.

the title’s defined as “relating to the transcendent or to a reality beyond what is perceptible to the senses. beyond ordinary experience.” the aptly named project evokes a raw, ethereal energy that draws outside the lines, while remaining true to a rock solid focus. “sweat,” “imposter!” + “congratulations you’re a doll” would be welcome additions to any playlist, however it’s recommended listeners follow the sparkling sonic story from start to finish.

* CONCRETE + GOLD - foo fighters the ninth record from foo fighters is born + it is a freaking force. dave says it’s motörhead meets sgt. pepper’s. i sure do dig the super crunchy guitars + layered vocal melodies. paul mccartney plays drums + justin timberlake sings bgvs, just cause he wanted to + it makes me the happiest human.

“I feel an earthquake coming on,” Dave Grohl sings on “Dirty Water,” a moment of fragile guitar poetry from Foo Fighters’ ninth album. Of course, keeping things steady amid chaos has been one of Grohl’s signature themes since the Foos were born from the wreckage of Nirvana a couple of forevers ago. Musically and emotionally, Concrete and Gold is their most balanced record yet – from stadium-punk dive bombers like “Run” and “La Dee Da” to the acoustic soul that opens “T-Shirt,” in which Grohl gets his Nina Simone on, singing, “I don’t wanna be king/I just wanna sing a love song.” “Sunday Rain” is a guitar weeper so late-Beatles great it even has Paul McCartney playing drums on it.

Adele co-writer Greg Kurstin’s production adds big-studio texture without diluting the band’s raw tumult; even Justin Timberlake’s appearance – as a backing vocalist on the space-truckin’ “Make It Right” – is subtle rather than ostentatious. The highlight is “The Sky Is a Neighborhood,” a hulking dream-metal anthem: “Trouble to the right and left,” Grohl sings, driving into the darkness with a Bic lighter raised to the heavens.“ - Rolling Stone

* HALLOWEEN - ruston kelly

ruston kelly captured me, years ago, with the single release of his flawlessly raw, haunting "black magic.” ever since, like a ghost itself, the song was never far from me.

Rolling Stone writes, “Black Magic” is a crescendoing rocker that ponders the bewitching pull of romance –and how it can easily disappear in a cloud of smoke.“

"Kelly is just as adept at making catchy country grooves – Tim McGraw and Josh Abbott Band have cut his tracks –as he is capturing life’s darkest, most introspective moments. The songwriter’s debut EP, the Mike Mogis-produced Halloween, is a solemn meditation on the inevitable end of things, and the spirits that tend to haunt us. Kelly came to Tennessee as a last-minute decision after attending high school in Belgium (he jokes that his father might have been a spy). Once he landed in town, he held tenure in the jam band Elmwood and battled addiction, writing songs on Music Row while exploring his demons on Halloween and his forthcoming full-length. Current single "Black Magic” shows a powerful grasp on storytelling gleaned from his love of the Carter Family and Townes Van Zandt, but also a more ragged rock & roll soul: it’s Americana, if your Americana is Bruce Springsteen with an acoustic guitar, sung by someone who spins a little heavy metal too. “Sometimes I wear both a cowboy hat and a Slayer T-shirt, just to throw people off,” Kelly says.“

* REPUTATION - taylor swift

"hold on to the memories, they will hold on to you” at her core, i still believe taylor to be the fiercely strong, quietly brilliant songwriter she’s always been. the power of the song comes through when you strip it down + it still shines just as bright. thank you for making music that meets me where i am + takes me away, since that very first day, at fifteen (2006). thank you for this one + for playing it for jimmy fallon + his momma (go watch that performance + weep!) i look forward to growing into this record as i have the five that came before.. i’ve never doubted her prowess as a storyteller.. + i won’t start now.

see also: Rob Sheffield’s glorious write up. i wholeheartedly agree. https://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/taylor-swift-reputation-sheffield-review-most-intimate-lp-w511359

rob is my favorite RS writer/author on all-things music. from his books on life through the lens of pop music–bowie, beatles + duran duran songs, respectively, i wouldn’t trust anyone else’s TS review. he articulately captures how i feel, as a fan from album one.. i look forward to better understanding 'reputation’ with each spin, though i can’t help but miss the classic introspective ballads.

* DIVIDE - ed sheeran

a fantastically diverse record. once again, sheeran proves he can break all of the boundaries + stay true to himself as an artist. he does it all so well, without appearing to care what anyone else thinks. “dive” is a bold, beautiful statement i continue to come back to + feel just the same. the record punches + dances in all the right places, from beginning to end, begging to be played on repeat.

* LIFE CHANGES - thomas rhett

thomas rhett gifted us the quintessential road trip singalong soundtrack record of the year. the day after it was born was spent on a bus from chicago to nashville, so when it wasn’t playing through my earbuds, it was spinning on repeat in my mind. the title track still stands out clear + strong, though i thoroughly enjoyed a live taste of the addictive early maren morris duet–“craving you”–back in february on the hometeam tour. it’s no wonder his career has catapulted with his seamless versatility in blending country’s storytelling with pop music’s neverending ear candy likeablity. this record excellently showcases rhett’s range from anthemic radio jams to heartbreaker ballads and true-to-life tales in between.

* FROM A ROOM (vol 1 + 2) - chris stapleton

stapleton released music this year in two parts, dubbing them “from A room” volumes 1 + 2–not just any room, “'A’ room” being nashville’s historic RCA studio A. some songs included in the collection were written up to a decade ago; ones chosen as they still ring true to the bearded, believable-as-they-come singer/songwriter.

on the authenticity of his craft, stapleton says, “I can’t really speak to why people like what we do. Hopefully, they know what we do is authentically us, and that goes over no matter what kind of music you’re playing. People will kind of hear that and connect with that in ways they wouldn’t if you were trying to be something that you think might be popular; I think that’s always a mistake in music, maybe even in life. Do something 'cause it’s in your heart, do something 'cause it’s what you’re supposed to be doing.”

“broken halos” + “second one to know” will, to me, always conjure up memories of seeing him open for tom petty and the heartbreakers at wrigley field, on their 40th anniversary tour, this summer. music is medicine and these honest-to-the-bone tunes are instant classics as well as a balm for the soul.

* FIRST CIGARETTE - travis meadows

“we rise. we climb. we shine like broken stars.”

the above is perhaps the defining statement of next-level nashville singer/songwriter, travis meadows’ 2017 studio album, 'first cigarette.’ the veteran of a different kind of war, there’s not much meadows hasn’t faced in life–cancer, heartbreak, addiction, depression.. and no story is off-limits for the wonderfully raw-voiced, honest-as-they-come artist. each song stays true to travis’ heart, some a little more uncomfortably authentic than accessible (ie radio-friendly), but that’s the way meadows prefers his craft.

“underdogs,” “pontiac,” “hungry,” + “better boat” stand out from first listen, yet each track was chosen to land where they do in the lineup + in the heart of the listener.

Rolling Stone writes, “To his most ardent fans and peers, including Eric Church, Dierks Bentley and Jake Owen, who have all cut Meadows’ songs for their respective albums, his open-book approach to his craft is his greatest gift. But Meadows lives in fear of rejection. That ever-lingering sense of distrust remains…

[On having label support backing a project for the first time]:

"It validates all of the suffering that I went through to get here,” Meadows says. “It gives it purpose.”

“I try not to be too hard on myself,” Meadows continues, “but I don’t deserve any of this. So I’m grateful for every inch I get walking that mile.”

* STEEL TOWN - steve moakler

steel town had only been out for nine days + i’d woken up with these songs in my head, every morning. i’m partial to “wheels” + “gold” + “summer without her” (co-written with + ft. my favorite-for-so-long, sarah buxton!!) + the title track, but i cannot pick a favorite, friends. the long wait from 'wide open’ to this one was oh-so-worth it. thanks for another heartfelt record filled with story songs i can spin for years + years to come. seriously, don’t sleep on this love letter to a historically hardworking hometown.

* BRETT ELDREDGE - brett eldredge

“Brett Eldredge’s self-titled third album is the Number One country album this week. The Illinois native also scored the highest all-genre chart position of his career, landing at Number Two on the Billboard 200, behind Kendrick Lamar’s LP Damn.” - Rolling Stone (August 15)

eldredge is both effortless + earnest, perfectly showcasing his ability + personality on the record he calls, “the most [himself].” from the playful first single, “somethin’ i’m good at” to the heartfelt vulnerability of “castaway,” listeners experience all-sides of the equal parts smooth sinatra, fun-loving country crooner. the standouts are story songs–“the long way” is dreamlike while “no stopping you” is wistful–both shine brilliantly on studio LP number three.

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thrashermaxey · 7 years ago

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Ramblings: Tampa Evens Up; Jeff Skinner; Tom Wilson; Andrei Vasilevskiy; Defence Shot Distribution – May 18

We had a pretty lopsided game in Washington on Thursday night in favour of the Capitals. Unfortunately for Washington and their fans, this was a scene that has played out often in the playoffs over the last decade: dominate the opposition and lose.

A late third-period goal from Alex Killorn just as a penalty was expiring gave Tampa Bay a 3-2 lead, a lead they would not relinquish, adding a late empty-net goal for the 4-2 win. After falling behind at home 0-2 in the series, the Lightning won both games on the road to even things back up at two.

This was an outstanding game from Andrei Vasilevskiy. He faced nearly 40 shots and some of his saves were of the 10-bell variety, particularly in the third period. More on him a little later.

These types of games happen. Sometimes you just tip your cap (no pun intended, honestly) to the opposing goaltender and move on.

For what it’s worth, Nicklas Backstrom looked fine in his return, but Evgeny Kuznetsov was given significantly more ice time. This is nothing to be overly concerned about given Backstrom hadn’t played in a while and it’s doubtful he’s anywhere close to healthy anyway, but I wonder if this trend might continue next year. It’s nothing against Backstrom, he’s still a wonderful player. Kuznetsov is just that good, though. Maybe it won’t be a significant change, maybe they’re just close to even. Wondering aloud, over here.

Though Ovechkin is known for his goal-scoring prowess, this pass to Evgney Kuznetsov on the team’s second goal of the game, a backhand cross-ice sauce that fell right on Kuzy’s tape, was sick:

Kuznetsov ties it for the #allcaps , Ovechkin and Wilson assist pic.twitter.com/PD9FADW9Pf

— Shayna (@hayyyshayyy) May 18, 2018

That’s not Erik Karlsson-To-Mike Hoffman, but it’s pretty good.

Tom Wilson may not be a fan favourite outside the Washington fanbase but there’s no denying one thing: he had a monster fantasy season in multi-category leagues. Putting up 250 hits, 51 blocked shots, and 187 penalty minutes while being able to chip in 14 goals and 35 points is a very, very good year. Even in standard ESPN leagues where hits aren’t counted, he had so many PIMs that he was still a top-50 forward.

That brings me around to 2018-19. What do we do here? If he can replicate this season, there are no issues with drafting him as a top-100 player.

The big concern is his usage. He was a nice surprise on the top forward line at five-on-five and that slotting got him nearly 16 minutes of ice time per game. Does he get that slotting again? Jakub Vrana has played so well these playoffs he’s forced a reluctant Barry Trotz to eventually move him into the top-6. Andre Burakovsky is still a very talented forward who’s been battling injuries this year. If he can right the ship in 2018-19, do those two forwards push Wilson down the lineup?

Maybe not. Maybe Trotz decides that it’s best to lengthen the lineup and use one of Vrana/Burakovsky on the third line with Eller/Connolly (or whomever) to give them three more balanced scoring lines. Wilson is also an RFA and is undoubtedly going to get a raise on his $2-million that he made last year. Will that factor in?

Wilson’s upside is capped. He’s just not that good offensively without significant help and he won’t get anywhere near the top PP unit barring injuries or severe underperformance by that unit. He can be a Patrick Maroon-type where 15-ish goals and 40 points is a good year. With the peripheral stat stuffing, that’s more than enough. As long as he stays in the top-6, it’s more than doable.

By now, we’ve all seen quotes and rumours that there may be some big changes coming to Carolina this offseason. I think we all assumed that would mean a defenceman or two moved, but another name has appeared:

Bob McKenzie on Jeff Skinner: “The feeling is he will almost certainly be traded.”

Full quote from the Bobcast: pic.twitter.com/PHOKZFHne8

— Platinum Seat Ghosts (@3rdPeriodSuits) May 17, 2018

This does make sense when you think about Jeff Skinner only having one year left and maybe the team doesn’t want to commit to him beyond that. It is kind of sad in a way, though, as the franchise failed to advance to the playoffs in any of Skinner’s eight seasons. A waste of an elite scoring talent. Carolina’s loss will be someone else’s gain.

This is a guy either Alberta team should be targeting.

There was a good read by Joe Smith over at The Athletic a couple days ago on Andrei Vasilevskiy. They basically talked to current goalies like Henrik Lundqvist and Ben Bishop as well as former goalies like Brian Boucher and Kevin Weekes on what made Vasilevskiy so good this year. Most of the praise came down to two things: athleticism and footwork.

I have no way of really proving this but my thought has always been your goalie needs to be the best athlete on the team. When you look at elite goalies over the last 20 years like Dominik Hasek and Tim Thomas, they were what some may say is unconventional but they used their athleticism to their advantage. Carey Price (before the injuries) did the same even though he was technically very sound. Regardless, being a great goalie is about making saves you’re not supposed to make, not about stopping 50-foot slapshots from the point. Hasek, Thomas, and Price could all do this. Vasilevskiy does it as well.

This is a mea culpa. Last summer, I wrote a couple times that I wasn’t sold on him but reading the opinions of others and watching him more this year has changed my mind a bit. Goaltending is a fickle thing so he could very well be a .910 goalie next year instead of .920. But when I read what is being said about him, it’s hard not to think he won’t have a very successful career. It’s easy to forget he doesn’t even turn 24 years old for two months.

Now, if Tampa could fix that penalty kill…

For those reading my Ramblings this week, thanks! Also, you’ll be reminded that we’ve been talking about shot rates across the league.

On Tuesday, the discussion revolved around rising shot attempt marks at five-on-five and how this affects goal scoring. The basic premise is that with the rise in shot rates, the middling totals are become a little devalued, as are guys with middling goal-scoring totals. The most important thing to note is that the number of players with over 200 shots on goal or 20 goals at all strengths has risen a lot over the last few years.

Yesterday, we covered forwards specifically. Shot rates are increasing everywhere except the absolute top tier. Despite more shots in the NHL this year than in recent seasons, the elite forward shot totals at five-on-five didn’t increase. Rather, the elite shot seasons disappeared. There were still excellent seasons, and more crossed the 200-shot threshold at five-on-five, but the 220+ seasons were not there. The league-wide shot increase led to more shots in the middle but not at the very top.

Today, we look at defencemen.

While the forwards may have been nitpicking a bit – does anyone really care if Alex Ovechkin lands 219 shots instead of 226? – the defence shot distribution is a whole other ball game. It’s changed to a much greater degree than it has for the forwards.

First things first, here’s what the distribution looks like for defencemen at five-on-five in each of the previous five seasons:

Let’s go through a few things.

In 2013-14, the mean shot on goal total for forwards at five-on-five was 79.26, which rose to 83.54 in 2017-18. That represents an increase of 5.40 percent, which means the average forward is landing 5.40 percent more shots on goal than he was four years ago. Fair enough.

In 2013-14, the mean shot on goal total for defencemen at five-on-five was 51.32, which rose to 63.38 in 2017-18. That represents an increase of 23.50 percent, which means the average defenceman is landing 23.5 percent more shots on goal than four years ago. That is a lot.

That’s not a nitpick, either. Each season from 2013 through 2016 saw mean shot totals between 50.8 and 52.4 among defencemen. That has exploded each of the past two seasons with the mean in 2016-17 being 57.11 and of course last year was 63.38. While forwards are shooting more than they have in recent years, defencemen are just racking up shots.

Keep in mind that this is shots on goal and not just shot attempts. These are shots taken by defencemen at five-on-five on which the goalie has to directly make a save. This isn’t defencemen shooting around shinpads for a deflection or missing the net on purpose to look for a backdoor goal.

Also, unlike the forwards, elite shot totals from blue liners are becoming more readily available. You can see the 2017-18 season stretch further to the right than any previous year in the graph above but the numbers really tell the story: over the past five years, there have been 16 instances of a defenceman with at least 160 shots on goal at five-on-five, and seven of them came in 2017-18. Four of them came in 2016-17, with the other five spread over the three previous seasons. The elite shot totals from defencemen has been increasing rapidly over the last couple years. So, again, unlike the forwards, not only are there higher middling totals, there are more elite totals as well.

Now, it’s a matter of what to do about the elite guys. Brent Burns continues to be far-and-away the best volume option. Dougie Hamilton was often among the top, and still is, but he’s got company now in guys like Seth Jones and Darnell Nurse. There are other young stars like Zach Werenski and Ivan Provorov who could be knocking on the door soon. Don’t forget a healthy Erik Karlsson. If Hamilton can’t consistently separate himself in the shot department as he has over the past few years, how much value does he really have above everyone else? Unless Calgary fixes that power play.

The devaluation of the non-Brent Burns top shooting options on the blue line is just one of the interesting fantasy angles here. What does this say about the increase in goal scoring if defencemen are shooting so much more and yet goals are still going up? Is it time we start viewing certain fantasy defencemen as if they were a fourth forward on the ice rather than a defenceman?

There is a lot more to dig into in the coming months. This doesn’t even start going into the power play production which is so critical to fantasy value. All the same, the way hockey is being played in the NHL is changing rapidly and with it is the way we should be valuing certain fantasy options.

from All About Sports https://dobberhockey.com/hockey-rambling/ramblings-jeff-skinner-tom-wilson-andrei-vasilevskiy-defence-shot-distribution-may-18/

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junker-town · 7 years ago

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9 fun stats you missed in Week 8 of the NFL season

These numbers flew under the radar on Sunday.

You’re probably familiar with the big storylines from Week 8 of the NFL season. The Seahawks beat the Texans in one of the most entertaining and high-scoring games of the year. The Browns and Niners stayed winless. But there were plenty of interesting numbers and trends that you may have missed.

The league is on a record pace for games without a touchdown this season. And the Bills are off to a hot 5-2 start, but history suggests it still may end in heartbreak for Buffalo. Deshaun Watson and Russell Wilson lit each other’s defenses up for a combined 854 passing yards and eight touchdowns. And shocker, but the Browns may have some regrets about their choices at the quarterback position.

Here are all of the most intriguing stats and figures from this week.

On Sunday afternoon, the Texans and Seahawks decided to let loose like they were at a friend’s wedding and the kids were staying overnight with their grandparents. Except, their version of this was scoring a lot of points in a frenzied back-and-forth battle. The Seahawks’ 41-38 win quickly became the highlight of the sports world — until Sunday night (well, really Monday morning) ended with the most outrageous World Series game we’ve ever seen.

We’re still not really sure it’s over? I mean, the box score says the Astros ultimately triumphed in the 10th with a 13-12 win, but if you told us they were still playing and at this point had outscored the Texans and Seahawks, we’d believe you.

Even if Game 5 REALLY ended and we’re not in a fever dream, both teams still scored more runs than some NFL teams scored points this week (waves to 49ers, Bears, Bucs, and Dolphins). And if you’re not surprised by that, there’s probably a reason: there have been A LOT of touchdown-less games so far this season.

The season is less than half over and there have already been 20 games in which a team scored 0 TDs. It happened 22 times in all of 2016.

— Michael David Smith (@MichaelDavSmith) October 30, 2017

Is this the result of better defense? Uncreative red zone play calls? A league-wide kicker conspiracy?

Let’s just pretend it’s the last one, a movement led by Lions kicker Matt Prater.

Poor Matthew Stafford. Poor, poor Matthew Stafford:

This is Matthew Stafford’s second career game with 400+ pass yds & 0 pass TDs. No other QB has one such game over the last 20 seasons

— NFL Research (@NFLResearch) October 30, 2017

In some ways, the Lions outplayed the Steelers on Sunday Night Football. They had more total yards, more first downs, and won both the time of possession and turnover battles.

But they rolled over and died in the red zone, going 0-for-5 every time they even got a whiff of those freshly painted end zones. Matt Prater was perfect on his field goal attempts, hitting all five tries including a 51-yarder. But settling for field goals isn’t going to win you many games, unless you’re playing the Browns. And the Steelers are not the Browns.

19 vs. 17

Speaking of the den of quarterback sadness, the Browns might have some regrets about the last two drafts:

19 - Pass TD by NFL leaders Carson Wentz & Deshaun Watson, both drafted with picks traded by Cleveland. 17 - Interceptions by Browns QBs.

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) October 30, 2017

You’d understand why a team that used first-round picks on Johnny Manziel, Brandon Weeden, Brady Quinn, and Tim Couch would be reticent to draft a quarterback that high again.

And blah blah hindsight 20/20 with Hugh Downs and Barbara Walters, we know.

BUUUUUUUUUT, woo boy did the Browns misjudge Wentz and Watson. For any team that wants to draft a quarterback in 2018, some advice: try like hell to trade up with the Browns.

At least something went right for the Browns Sunday, even though they fell to 0-8 and are guaranteed not to finish with a winning record again: They stuck with DeShone Kizer for the entire game. Not coincidentally, Kizer did not turn the ball over in a game for the first time all season.

Kizer still leads the NFL in interceptions, but now he’s got some company:

Cam Newton is now tied with DeShone Kizer with an @NFL-high 11 interceptions.

— Andrew Siciliano (@AndrewSiciliano) October 29, 2017

In fairness to Newton, he’s had some of the most unlikely picks we’ve ever seen this year.

This isn’t your fault, Cam:

And we think someone in the stands was performing a Professor Quirrell-ish curse here:

-Jets scored a touchdown on their opening drive in the third straight game and ended up losing all three

We don’t talk often about the Los Angeles Chargers, because there hasn’t been a lot of good there this season.

However, Joey Bosa is still great. By sacking Tom Brady on Sunday, Bosa now has the most sacks in first 20 games than anyone in NFL history.

Bosa’s career got off to a slow start, after he missed the first four games with a hamstring injury. But he still managed to finish the season with 10.5 sacks in the Chargers’ 12 remaining games.

This season, Bosa has 8.5 sacks on the season. He’s leading a Chargers defense that’s been good at getting to the quarterback. Along with Bosa, Melvin Ingram also has 8.5 sacks, and Chris McCain has five.

But through 20 games, Bosa has proven to be a great pick by the Chargers. He’s a piece they can build around.

6-2

Remember when the Patriots lost their home opener to the Chiefs and everyone thought it might be a down year for Bill Belichick’s squad? Now the Patriots are 6-2. The defense still ranks dead last in the league for passing yards allowed per game with 295.5. But they’ve tightened up the past couple of weeks against the Falcons and the Chargers.

Matt Ryan threw for 233 yards and one touchdown in garbage time against the Patriots. The Patriots held Philip Rivers to 212 yards and a touchdown. The improvement on that side of the ball means the Patriots are exactly who we thought they were going to be coming into the season: contenders.

History suggests they might even repeat as Super Bowl champs.

The last time the Patriots were 6-2 after eight games, they won the Super Bowl (2014).#facts

— Pats Pulpit (@patspulpit) October 29, 2017

Will Fuller and DeAndre Hopkins lead the NFL in receiving touchdowns with seven. Fuller has done his in much less time than Hopkins, after missing the first four games recovering from a broken collarbone.

Fuller has 13 total catches on the season, and with seven of those going for touchdowns, that’s more than half. That pace obviously isn’t going to stick, but even at that small sample size, it’s impressive.

We already knew what DeAndre Hopkins was capable of, but for Fuller to show this type of promise in his second season has been an incredible help for Deshaun Watson, who seems like a lock to win rookie of the year at this point in the season.

5-2

The Bills are just a game behind the Patriots in the AFC East, and it’s because they’re winning at home. Buffalo hasn’t lost a single game in New Era Stadium, and they added a win on the road over the Falcons to get to 5-2.

Buffalo also has the best turnover margin in the league, and it isn’t close. Buffalo is sitting at +14, with 17 interceptions and forced fumbles against just three turnovers for the offense. The next best team is the Jaguars, who have a margin of +8.

It’s safe for Bills fans to be cautiously optimistic, but with an emphasis on “cautiously.” Since 1999, the Bills have jumped out to a 5-2 start twice. In 2008, they won just two more games the rest of the season to finish 7-9. In 2011, they dropped their next seven in a row and finished 6-10.

400 and 4

The Seahawks’ win over the Texans was one of the most entertaining games of the season so far. Russell Wilson and Deshaun Watson both went off for over 400 yards and four touchdowns each. They set records in the process.

This game was just the sixth time in NFL history that opposing quarterbacks threw for 400-plus yards and four touchdowns each, according to ESPN Stats and Info. When you factor in each quarterback’s rushing yards, it’s even better.

#HOUvsSEA: First game in NFL history in which both QBs had 400+ pass yds, 30+ rush yds & 4+ pass TD Watson & Wilson: 854 pass yds combined http://pic.twitter.com/JxxmndhHGs

— NFL Research (@NFLResearch) October 30, 2017

And Watson is now the only NFL quarterback in history to finish with over 400 passing yards, four touchdowns, and more than 55 rushing yards.

0 notes

junker-town · 7 years ago

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TOUCHDOWN RABBIT and the 28 other weird, wild, and cool college football moments from Week 7

Let’s explore some of the week’s best in weirdness.

Two of the great things about college football are upsets and weirdness. This season’s Week 7 had both of those in heavy supply. This was a “why we love college football” kind of weekend, complete with seven Top 25 teams, four in the top 10, losing to unranked opponents.

Aside from the results, there was a bunch of silly stuff. Let’s rack it up.

1. At Stanford, there was a JACKRABBIT ON THE FIELD, and Fox play-by-play man Tim Brando and the crowd both cheered it on as it scored three touchdowns.

Double tap if touchdown rabbit should win the Heisman Comment if you miss touchdown squirrel from earlier this season

A post shared by FOX Sports (@foxsports) on Oct 14, 2017 at 10:18pm PDT

Rabbit’s numbers:

First-quarter rushing yards: Royce Freeman - 95 Bryce Love - 136 Rabbit - 289 http://pic.twitter.com/Fyx5I1Eq4r

— Alan George (@treeSIDjorge) October 15, 2017

That was the second small mammal to score a touchdown in a Power 5 stadium this year.

2. Our first sign the weekend was going wild: while Syracuse was about to upset Clemson on Friday night, Oklahoma State head coach Mike Gundy was doing this:

Good morning. Here is the greatest photo of all time. Happy Homecoming #okstate. http://pic.twitter.com/LNWfdG67BW

— Pistols Firing (@pistolsguys) October 14, 2017

3. Cal blew out Washington State (?!), led by Ross Bowers’ flipping touchdown:

When your mom was a gymnastics coach.@CoachJoBowers #12Best #SCtop10 http://pic.twitter.com/zKVVYWSDDu

— Cal Athletics (@CalAthletics) October 14, 2017

4. Yes, Florida really did dress up like damn literal alligators.

5. BYU mascot Cosmo the Cougar, who recently went viral for his outrageous dancing skill, decided to have a MASCOT DANCE BATTLE against Mississippi State’s furry person.

6. Pitt threw a pass to its left tackle and almost scored a TD on it.

@lebrownlow http://pic.twitter.com/TyrjkuWPKX

— Space Invader Jim (@spaceinvaderjim) October 14, 2017

That left tackle, Brian O’Neill, won the Piesman Trophy last year for doing almost the exact same thing, except for a touchdown. Linemen catching passes is good.

7. Michigan got flagged for three fouls on one play: offside, defensive holding, and roughing the passer. Indiana accepted the last of those and got 15 yards.

8. An Illinois punt return made the saddest attempt of all time to scoop up a rolling kick and run with it, leading to a Rutgers fumble recovery.

9. Lamar Jackson had 512 total yards and five touchdowns! But Louisville gave up 45 points to Boston freaking College and lost. BC hadn’t put up that many points against a Power 5 opponent since 2009.

10. Lol, Will Muschamp is now 6-0 against Tennessee.

11. After the latest of those wins, South Carolina QB Jake Bentley had a heartwarming exchange with a devastated Tennessee QB, Jarrett Guarantano:

Sportsmanship, pass it on. http://pic.twitter.com/AJ2NmAnsM5

— Hale McGranahan (@Hale_SECcountry) October 14, 2017

12. It was a good weekend for #classy, as Dabo Swinney was a great sport after losing to Syracuse.

Dabo is all class. Can clearly see him say "I'm so happy for you" to Dino Babers after a potentially season changing loss. http://pic.twitter.com/2M5nsLtARC

— Will Brinson (@WillBrinson) October 14, 2017

The whole postgame scene was great.

WHOSE HOUSE?!?!?!?#OITNF http://pic.twitter.com/noXn5ey9Iu

— Syracuse Football (@CuseFootball) October 14, 2017

13. NC State defensive lineman Bradley Chub messed up his finger real bad ...

Bradley Chubb's gruesome finger injury--hopefully just a dislocation; expected to come back in the game http://pic.twitter.com/ihGqZewoGQ

— Pack Pride (@PackPride) October 14, 2017

... and had a dominant game anyway in a win at Pitt.

14. Ole Miss’ D.K. Metcalf caught a ball by pinning it to the back of a dude’s helmet.

15. Former LSU coach Les Miles returned to Baton Rouge. While he was there, he literally ate grass on live television.

16. Meanwhile, we got former Auburn players tweeting step-by-step plans to replacing Gus Malzahn.

#WAREAGLE http://pic.twitter.com/2Qp0Dm3Zt5

— Heath Evans (@HeathEvans44) October 14, 2017

17. Miami tried to surprise Georgia Tech with an onside kick. Miami forgot to a) kick it far enough and b) stop a Yellow Jacket from picking it up and running the other way for a freebie touchdown.

18. It eventually started to rain like hell at that game. A sliding Georgia Tech QB, TaQuon Marshall, almost ripped up Mark Richt’s lower body. But the Miami coach proved that he’s still got some hops at 57, deftly eluding the rush.

19. Maryland fans got ahold of a game football and threw all around the stadium. Like, alllll around it, in a stadium-wide game of hot potato.

Hot potato round 2 at Maryland Stadium. Some absolute s being thrown around the stadium. Cc: @MartyMcFly34 http://pic.twitter.com/AjihEYemo1

— Keith (@Sneds311) October 14, 2017

20. Marshall’s punter hit a 92-yard punt, FBS’ longest in at least 45 years.

21. Florida’s center made a catch! I think he’s now UF’s leading receiver.

22. Arkansas’ punter mangled a punt attempt in three different ways: by not catching the snap, by not punting it after he picked it up, and by making a silly throw.

(Alabama crushed Arkansas, but you already knew that.)

23. Arizona State shocked Washington, and the play that sealed a game was a throw-and-catch that, even after watching it a bunch, seems impossible.

In case you were sleeping (you probably were), Arizona State sealed its win over No. 5 Washington with this insane catch. http://pic.twitter.com/9rc3VhqFZw

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) October 15, 2017

I still don’t have a clue how that ball got from point A (the QB’s hand) to point B (the receiver’s) in the midst of all those white jerseys.

24. Akron-WMU was delayed to Sunday due to a slight case of underwater field. Akron won.

Western Michigan v. Akron Football game postponed to 1 PM Sunday, Oct. 15 due to heavy rain fall & lightning in Kalamazoo. @ESPNCFB #MACtion http://pic.twitter.com/QPCADJjwcS

— WMU Football (@WMU_Football) October 14, 2017

25. UCF has a thing where a cheerleader has to do a pushup for every point the Knights score, as . That becomes difficult when UCF drops a 63 spot on ECU.

The struggle is real... 63 points, 63 push-ups. @UCF_Football put @UCF_CheerTeam to work! #SCtop10 http://pic.twitter.com/KdH6nZMpsI

— UCF Knights (@UCFKnights) October 15, 2017

26. North Texas had 1:07 left when it got the ball down four against North Texas. The Mean Green were out of timeouts and on their own 2-yard line. They won.

4th Quarter. 1:07 left. 98 yards. No timeouts.@ESPN Win Probability: 1.7% Relive @MeanGreenFB's game-winning drive http://pic.twitter.com/HADkzyoWGG

— Conference USA (@ConferenceUSA) October 15, 2017

27. That FSU won by stopping a Hail Mary isn’t all that weird, but here’s what is: the Noles needed Hail Mary stops against Duke and Wake Forest to reach 2-3. Imagine hearing that in 2013 or any point in the 1990s.

28. A USC player fumbled off his own face (the fumble via backwards pass was credited, so to speak, to QB Sam Darnold).

29. And finally, Lee Corso turning into a giant bulldog terrified JMU’s actual bulldog.

College football is the dumbest and best sport.

0 notes

junker-town · 8 years ago

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We drafted an expansion Virginia Beach NBA team. Here's who we picked and why

The SB Nation NBA network held a mock expansion draft and we took our team to Virginia Beach.

In late July, NBA commissioner Adam Silver announced he is considering the idea of an expansion. Adding more franchises to 30-team league is “just a question of when the right time is to seriously start thinking about [it],” he said.

As we were talking about what an expansion draft would look like in 2017, we decided to do our own. We called upon the beautiful SB Nation network of team blogs and experts to protect their players from each team and let us know who was available for drafting.

Per the NBA’s rules of an Expansion Draft, each team was allowed to protect eight players. The rest would be available for a new team to take for a new franchise.

Here’s what that final list looked like:

Finally came the fun part: Drafting!

Whitney and I paired as one team in the East and we pit ourselves against SB Nation’s Seattle SuperSonics blog, Sonics Rising. Seattle has been the likely destination for an expansion team ever since the SuperSonics relocated and became the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2008.

And since the Hampton Roads area was on Tom Ziller’s list of possible expansion locations, I (Kristian) — a proud Hampton University alumnus — decided to make Virginia Beach the East’s 16th NBA city. Allen Iverson, who is from Hampton, Va., will assume a guard development role effective immediately.

We gave the SuperSonics the first pick because they deserve it. With that, we got first pick at head coach and we quickly offered Becky Hammon as much money as we possibly could.

The Draft:

The Sonics took Andre Drummond from the Detroit Pistons in their first pick of the expansion draft.

2. George Hill - Sacramento Kings

Kristian: The George Hill pick made sense for our first selection. Here is a veteran leader, competitor, a two-way player and stability at the most important position in basketball. We couldn’t risk letting Seattle get him.

Whitney: Taking Hill first sets the tone of the team. Solid guy and I had to keep Kristian from drafting Tim Hardaway Jr. with our first pick.

Seattle took Tyler Johnson from the Miami Heat at 3.

4. Tim Hardaway Jr. - New York Knicks

Kristian: I’m a Knicks guy, through and through. So when I saw Tim Hardaway Jr., basking in the wet ink of his $71 million contract, I had to pull the trigger.

In truth, I was never against New York adding Hardaway in the first place. Sure, $71 million is exorbitant, but when you’re gunning for a restricted free agent, you have to make an offer another team won’t match. Hardaway developed as a player on both ends of the floor in Atlanta and he returns to a Knicks team that no longer employs the guy who traded him.

He’s 25, can score in bunches and hasn’t scratched the surface of his potential. That’s a guy I want on my team.

Whitney: I’m actually a Tim Hardaway Jr. fan. I think he’s a fine player and in an expansion draft he’s a really great pickup. That said, it’s okay if you roast us for this contract. At least we didn’t take him first, right?

Seattle took Iman Shumpert from the Cavaliers at 5.

6. Trey Lyles - Utah Jazz

Kristian: We needed a big man, but I didn’t want someone who could only play one position. I wanted someone young who was developing a versatile skill set.

Lyles is a 21-years-old, 6’10” forward who can step out and shoot threes. He hasn’t played much, but there’s no reason to believe he can’t develop into a legitimate inside-outside offensive threat in the future.

Whitney: Like Kristian said, we got a good leader in George Hill to start, so we wanted to keep this team young. Little does Kristian know I’m getting all the guys with Indiana ties. Shoutout to Arsenal Tech in Indianapolis.

Seattle took Kenneth Faried from the Nuggets at 7.

8. Robin Lopez - Chicago Bulls

Kristian: Whitney and I had been playing with the idea of grabbing RoLo earlier, but letting him fall further could have been risky. After all, Lopez is a guy who doesn’t need the ball to be effective. He’s a guy who does the dirty work — fights for 50/50 balls, boxes out, occasionally fist-fights Serge Ibaka — and doesn’t complain about touches.

He’s also a really solid defender, an underrated passer and a seriously underrated low-post scorer. We needed Robin Lopez just as much as Robin Lopez needed us.

Whitney: So part of starting a new team in a new city is having a team that is likeable! Robin Lopez fits what we want to do on the basketball court, but his personality fits as well. Mascot fights? We’ll take it. Remember when he did a remake of Beauty and the Beast? We need guys like this. We have to sell tickets!

Seattle took Jamal Crawford from the Timberwolves at 9.

10. Lou Williams - Los Angeles Clippers

Kristian: Seattle took Jamal Crawford with their 5th pick, and like Negan from The Walking Dead, I had to shut down a Jamal Crawford-Lou Williams backcourt, with no exceptions. Besides, what team couldn’t use a walking bucket coming off the bench?

Whitney: We’re going to be playing in the East. We have a shot to make the playoffs, so we’re also going for a sixth man of the year award. We’re shooting for the stars. We’re letting Lou Williams cook off the bench.

Seattle took Wesley Matthews from the Mavs at 11.

12. Evan Fournier - Orlando Magic

Kristian: At this point, we had our guards and bigs, but we had no wing. Ideally, we wanted a young guy here who could play defense, hit threes, run in transition and didn’t have an injury history or off-court troubles. That didn’t exist, so we went with the best available. (I mentioned Rashad Vaughn multiple times in our draft discussions, but the numbers weren’t in his favor this time around.)

Evan Fournier hasn’t distinguished himself as a star in Orlando, but he hasn’t been a scrub either. His efficiency dropped last season, but Fournier was still a legitimate perimeter threat on a nightly basis.

Whitney: It’s time to teach Virginia Beach not to google his name.

Seattle Tyson Chandler from the Phoenix Suns at 13.

14. John Henson - Milwaukee Bucks

Kristian: Seattle got a really good pick in Tyson Chandler here, a vet who can mentor the young guys and still turn in valuable minutes as a defensive anchor and rebounder. We went ahead and grabbed the youngest available version of Chandler in John Henson.

Henson became somewhat of an afterthought in Milwaukee due to Giannis Antotkounmpo’s emergence as an all-world talent and Thon Maker’s quick rise to prominence as a rookie, but he’s got the skills.

Whitney: Young talent, young talent, young talent. We need it. At 26 years old, he’s still a rebounder, shot-blocker and rim-running athlete we can use off the bench.

Seattle took Ryan Anderson from the Houston Rockets at 15.

16. Marcus Morris - Boston Celtics

Kristian: I play a lot of NBA 2K, and one thing I like to do is draft out teams in MyGM mode and see how they do. And every time, I make sure to get guys who can play more than one position and at least compete on defense. Marcus Morris is one of those guys. He’s a tough-nosed wing who really showed himself as a gifted scorer in Detroit before being traded to Boston.

Whitney: Every team needs a tough guy. Someone that will go to battle with you no matter what the circumstance. It’s why the Backstreet Boys had A.J. McClean and Nsync had Chris Kirpatrick. You need a tough guy in every successful group.

Seattle took Bojan Bogdanovic from the Indiana Pacers at 17.

18. Bryn Forbes - San Antonio Spurs

Kristian: Had it not been for Lonzo Ball, Bryn Forbes probably would have won Summer League MVP. The guy looked like Damian Lillard in Las Vegas, fundamentally picking defenders apart at the cellular level to the tune of 26 points per game.

Seattle can have Bojan Bogdanovic. We’ve got Bryn, and we fully expect him to train with Iverson this summer.

Whitney: This was a makeup pick for Kristian. He could have Bryn if I had total control of our 10th pick.

Seattle took Jeremy Lamb from the Hornets at 19.

20. C.J. Miles - Toronto Raptors

Kristian: Whitney had been legit campaigning to draft C.J. Miles since before we started the Expansion Draft. That didn’t stop 10 picks in.

Finally, I gave in, and in truth, we found our starting 3. Miles is exactly what I wanted when I said we needed a wing who “could play defense, hit threes, run in transition and didn’t have an injury history or off-court troubles.” Besides, we could use Fournier’s offense with the second unit, anyway.

Whitney: I DID IT. I GOT GEORGE HILL AND C.J. MILES TOGETHER AGAIN. I’VE NEVER WANTED A FAKE TEAM TO BE MORE REAL.

In all reality, C.J. Miles is that dude. He’s going to be perfect on the floor and off. Knock down three-point shooter. Can play any position on the court. Remember when he played power forward for Paul George? Team first, will do anything to win kind of guy.

Seattle took Thabo Sefolosha from the Utah Jazz at 21.

22. Taj Gibson - Minnesota Timberwolves

Kristian: At this point, we have our starters, we have a second unit, but we don’t have an enforcer. Taj Gibson is a guy who has a winning pedigree, has a defense-first mentality and — most importantly — is from Brooklyn, N.Y. Win, win.

Whitney: Another dirty work kind of guy. Will fight for the team every night. At pick 11 in an expansion draft, it seems like a steal.

Seattle took Amir Johnson from the 76ers at 23.

24. Nick Young - Golden State Warriors

Kristian: Whitney and I like our roster, but there’s something missing: shooters. Swaggy P adds a little flare to our team, and if there’s anything he does, it’s hit three-pointers. His harmless antics add another dimension to the team, and he’ll be a great teammate on the bench and on the court.

Whitney: This team is going to be fun.

Seattle took Frank Mason III from the Kings at 25.

26. Ian Clark - New Orleans Pelicans

Kristian: Ian Clark plays within a system, can shoot threes and can play either guard spot. Check, check and check.

Whitney: Ian Clark was lowkey my favorite player on the Warriors roster. He knows what it takes to win a championship too. That doesn’t mean he’ll be the no. 1 guy on this team but at least he’s been in a winning culture and can bring that to Viriginia Beach.

Seattle took Mario Hezonja from the Magic at 27.

28. Thomas Bryant - Los Angeles Lakers

Kristian: Pick 14 in an expansion draft gets tough. What I did know is this: Thomas Bryant is from Rochester, N.Y., and my cousin played ball at the local YMCA with him before. Here’s how that conversation went:

My cousin’s month-old endorsement was good enough for me. Besides, Bryant’s a 19-year-old rookie big man who play like he has multiple chips on his shoulder. I’ll take that at pick No. 14.

Whitney: Indiana ties? Sign me up.

Seattle took Jake Layman from the Trail Blazers at 29.

30. Isaiah Whitehead - Brooklyn Nets

Kristian: Seattle went with a hometown pick at 15 and I went to Hampton. The only Pirates to play in the NBA were Devin Green and the honorable Bad Boy himself, Rick Mahorn. I didn’t have any Pirates to choose from.

So, I went with a hometown guy in Isaiah Whitehead, who’s from Brooklyn. Nets coach Kenny Atkinson likened him to Marcus Smart, and if he reaches that level, there’s no way Whitehead’s not in my rotation.

Whitney: That’s fine with me. I got George Hill and C.J. Miles and this is now my favorite team.

Our Starters

Point Guard - George Hill

Shooting Guard - Tim Hardaway Jr.

Small Forward - C.J. Miles

Power Forward - Taj Gibson

Center - Robin Lopez

Sixth man - Lou Williams

How They Fit

This team is a decent mix of young and old players and should be a group of guys that can put egos aside and gel together rather quickly. The players we drafted also will allow Becky Hammon to play with rotations depending on opponent. A lot of these guys can play multiple positions and that is crucial in today’s NBA. The best part is that the Eastern Conference is currently depleted and it will give them some confidence that they can compete right away.

How would they do?

It’s not crazy that this team could sneak into the eighth spot in the East. It’s a conference that is totally up for grabs. But, much like the Knicks, our team's success hinges on Tim Hardaway Jr's development. And that may be challenging.

Which team would win? Let us know

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junker-town · 8 years ago

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The 101 best moments of the 2016-17 NBA season

The long NBA season produced so many incredible moments. Here are our favorites.

The 2016-17 NBA season ends on Wednesday. Well, the regular season ends. The playoffs begin on Saturday. We tend to remember seasons by what happens in the postseason, even when the 82 are filled with surprise and wonder.

This year we decided to celebrate the regular season at its close, before the playoffs wash our brains with new achievements. We’re taking a moment to acknowledge the amazing things that happened over the last six months before we devour and catalog what happens over the next two.

These moments are listed in NO PARTICULAR ORDER, and we apologize if your favorite moment (or team) isn’t represented. Please share those moments in the comments! We’re sure we missed some. With 1,230 games to recall — not including Wednesday’s finales — things are bound to fall through the cracks.

But we are confident these 101 unforgettable moments are worth remembering. They are sorted into convenient (and sometimes overlapping) categories and numbered. We apologize to your phones and hope you enjoy.

DAGGERS

Let’s open at the close with the most memorable daggers of the year.

1. James Harden’s sprinting game-winner

Harden is an MVP favorite, so he leads the list. This slaloming full-court, one-man fast break sealed a win for the Rockets ... whether Nene held a Nugget or not.

2. Serge Ibaka’s no-look, game-tying bank shot

You’ll never see a weirder clutch shot than Ibaka putting it off the glass without looking, to send it to overtime.

3. Giannis Antetokounmpo’s buzzer-beater at Madison Square Garden

The only thing better than The Greek Freak’s shot is Carmelo Anthony’s reaction to it.

4. Kawhi Leonard’s seven-second MVP case

Kawhi buried a clutch jumper and then smothered James Harden on the other end to seal a win for the Spurs. This had people speaking in tongues and denouncing the entirety of Houston.

5. Kyrie Irving’s game-winner on Christmas Day

After hitting the dagger that gave Cleveland its first championship in decades last June, Kyrie followed it up with a turnaround fadeaway over Klay Thompson to beat the Warriors on Christmas. Golden State has nightmares about Uncle Drew.

6. Dion Waiters beats the Warriors

The best dagger of the year, and not just because of the shot. It’s the triumphant pose that really sells it. Business is booming on Waiters Island.

GOOSEBUMPS

We experienced some special emotional moments together this season.

7. The Paul Pierce tribute in Boston

The Truth is playing his 18th and final season in the NBA. There hasn’t been too much pomp ... except in Boston, where Pierce received an appropriate hero’s send-off.

8. The Roots' Basketball History Musical and All-Star intros

This was a damn cool moment that was uniquely NBA in every way.

9. Joel Embiid celebrates T.J. McConnell's buzzer-beater

#NBAVote Joel Embiid http://pic.twitter.com/bNzIpcAub7

— Christian Crosby (@ChristianCrosby) January 12, 2017

There hasn’t been a whole lot for the 76ers to celebrate in the past few years. So to see Embiid’s ecstasy after McConnell beat the Knicks was refreshing and heart-warming. And it gave us one of the greatest photos ever.

10. Coaches speak out

There isn’t really a good category for this one, but it was rather surreal and, for the majority of NBA fans, refreshing. It helped define the league, given the silence of management in other major American sports. Here’s Paul Flannery’s Shootaround on coaches speaking up in the wake of Nov. 8.

11. DeMarcus Cousins and Joel Embiid become BFFs

In a season rife with beef, two talented big men found friendship and mutual respect. There is hope for America.

12. Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant share one more alley-oop

One of the dominating storylines at the All-Star Game was the opportunity for Durant and Westbrook to reunite on the West team. Would Steve Kerr play them together? (Yes, of course.) Would they acknowledge each other? Would Westbrook feed Durant for a transition alley-oop? He did, and the world reacted like the Berlin Wall fell. The reaction from the other West All-Stars was worth the price of admission.

13. Drake + Doris

The Raptors annual Drake Night turned into an evening of Canada’s favorite son wooing ESPN’s star broadcaster Doris Burke. It culminated in Drake asking DoBu to dinner on live television and Burke later accepting on Twitter. Basketball and romance — all in a night’s work for the Toronto Raptors.

14. Tim Duncan’s jersey retirement ceremony

Everything good about the Spurs is on display here.

15. TNT’s emotional Craig Sager tribute

The world lost a bit of color in December when Craig Sager died after a years-long fight with leukemia. TNT paid tribute to the beloved sideline reporter with a five-minute eulogy narrated by Ernie Johnson.

16. The Sager charity shootout

Two months later, on All-Star Saturday, the NBA put together a special moment starring DJ Khaled, Steph Curry, Candace Parker, Reggie Miller, and others. The purpose: raise $500,000 for the Sager Strong Foundation. Curry couldn’t hit a halfcourt shot in street clothes, so to punctuate the moment, Shaq lifted up Sager’s youngest son for an assisted finger roll.

WTF

The NBA stays weird. Note that the LMAO category has plenty of items that could double in this category.

17. The Warriors’ bizzaro groundbreaking ceremony

Golden State officially began work on its new arena in San Francisco in January. The Warriors don’t do anything boring these days. So of course, the ceremony featured dancing construction workers and excavator ballet. YES, EXCAVATOR BALLET.

THE CRANES ARE DOING A SYNCHRONIZED DANCE WHAT IN THE HELL IS GOING ON http://pic.twitter.com/VfbbcsFGx5

— Courtney Cronin (@CourtneyRCronin) January 17, 2017

18. Lance Stephenson returns to Indiana

The Pacers had a blasé season ... until Lance Stephenson blew into town in March. In his first game back in Indianapolis, he led a stirring comeback, insulted the Raptors with a garbage time layup, acted like he had no clue why they were so mad, and earned Paul George’s highest praise. It was better than MJ in the 4-5.

19. The great NBA potato mystery

In March, various NBA players began receiving personalized potatoes in the mail. Of course, it was viral marketing. For two days there, you had internet writers going full Rust Cohle.

20. The NBA’s Flat Earth Society

Just before All-Star Weekend, Richard Jefferson and Channing Frye revealed on their podcast (which was a revelation in itself) that Kyrie Irving believes the Earth is flat. Most of All-Star Weekend, thus, was filled with serious questions about Kyrie’s beliefs — Adam Silver even had to respond to it during a press conference! — and jokes at Irving’s expense. Shaq later pranked everyone by claiming he too believes the world is flat.

BEEF

If there was one constant this season, it was BEEF. Everyone’s so mad at each other all of a sudden.

Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports

21. Russell Westbrook vs. Zaza Pachulia 22. Kevin Durant vs. Andre Roberson 23. Steph Curry vs. Russell Westbrook and Semaj Christon

Let’s get the NBA’s biggest running beef out of the way with these three critical moments. When the Thunder visited Golden State in January, Zaza put Westbrook on his tail and the OKC star vowed retribution. In Durant’s highly anticipated return to Oklahoma City, ex-teammate Roberson got into his face and butted heads with him. Durant missed the second game in OKC due to injury, so Semaj Christon and eventually Westbrook mixed it up with Curry. I’m starting to think there’s some bad blood here.

24. Serge Ibaka vs. Robin Lopez

Ibaka and Lopez almost traded punches in a late-season battle between the Raptors and their arch-rival Bulls. Luckily, both whiffed and so each were only suspended a game. This could have been much more notorious.

25. Jusuf Nurkic vs. the Nuggets

Denver traded the Bosnian Beast to Portland — its closest rival for the No. 8 seed in the West — and Nurkic immediately became an All-Star-caliber player. He groaned at his diminished role with the Nuggets, so when the Blazers freed him, he made sure to remind Denver what it was missing. At the conclusion of his epic revenge game against the Nuggets in March, he wished his old team a “happy summer.” Savage.

26. Charles Oakley vs. the Knicks

Knicks owner James Dolan had Knicks legend Oakley booted from a game, arrested, and banned from Madison Square Garden over some personal drama between the two. The entirety of Western civilization took Oak’s side; eventually, the league tapped Michael Freaking Jordan to broker a cease fire.

27. C.J. McCollum vs. Chandler Parsons

We hit the lottery by not signing you https://t.co/eSiBaNT061

— CJ McCollum (@CJMcCollum) January 28, 2017

These dudes had such a petty social media fight that the league had to send a memo to teams telling everyone to chill their Twitter fingers.

28. JaVale McGee vs. Shaq

There’s actually nothing funny about this one. The Warriors and both dudes’ moms got involved. This was definitely a season in which beef went a little too far.

29. LeBron vs. Charles Barkley

LeBron had enough of Chuck’s chatter and produced the research to bear. He brought up Barkley spitting on a kid and throwing a dude through a window! So of course, Chuck announced that the feud was over. YEAH it is, buddy. It’s over.

30. LeBron vs. LaVar Ball

Oh, God. LaVar Ball. LaVar talked about how Lil’ Bronny won’t ever measure up to his dad because NBA stars can’t raise talent like LaVar did. Big Bron snapped back. This is the closest he’s ever been to old-man status and it’s just great.

31. DeMarcus Cousins vs. Meyers Leonard

Now this is a great beef. Inexplicable, even to the parties involved.

32. Funeral Game

Speaking of inexplicable, Wizards vs. Celtics came out of nowhere to become the fiercest team rivalry in the league. John Wall did not appreciate getting booped by Jae Crowder, and next thing you know, the Wizards are wearing all black to a game in January to signify the Celtics’ “funeral.” Needlessly intense, like all good NBA beefs should be.

DRAMA

A close cousin of BEEF is Drama, from the courtroom to the locker room.

33. Palace intrigue in Lakerland

Jeanie Buss hired Magic Johnson, fired her brother ... and then her brother tried in hilariously inept fashion to replace her as the controlling owner of the Lakers. She sued, her brother disappeared, and all is now well in Lakerland. What a weird family.

34. The night Boogie got traded

DeMarcus Cousins had a strange All-Star Sunday, playing only two minutes as trade rumors swirled. Immediately after the game, as he faced the media scrum, a Kings PR staffer apparently whispered in his ear that it looked like he was going to be traded. The news broke less than an hour later.

35. Kevin Durant’s return to OKC

We covered the beef involved above, but the scene in Oklahoma City was something else. The cupcake shirts and signs, the chants, the boos.

36. The Bulls’ Instagram saga

Dwyane Wade and Jimmy Butler decided to trash their teammates in the media ... so Rajon Rondo (whose current role in the NBA is apparently to cause havoc wherever he goes) lit them up on Instagram.

DUNKS

Be honest, this is what you came for. Enjoy.

37. Willie Cauley-Stein on the Celtics

38. Terrence Ross 360

Holy cow! Terrence Ross throws down a 360 degree jam http://pic.twitter.com/HbeUfuJoJS

— CSN Northwest (@CSNNW) December 27, 2016

39. Sam Dekker on Enes Kanter

You have to click through for that one because Vine died for our sins. But YO.

40. Andrew Wiggins on JaVale McGee

A better look at Andrew Wiggins' monster dunk! http://pic.twitter.com/OHGPXFDyBV

— NBA (@NBA) November 27, 2016

41. Zach LaVine on Alex Len

Another Vine, so click through. But trust me: Do it.

42. Russell Westbrook dagger dunk on Clint Capela

43. Larry Nance Jr. on Brook Lopez

44. Larry Nance Jr. on David West

Here is the Dunk of the Year by the Dunker of the Year. To my knowledge, Nance has still not apologized to West for his incredible disrespect. This is unacceptable.

LMAO

Here at SB Nation, we like to laugh. (You’ll notice that this is the biggest category.) The NBA came through for us this year.

45. The Lakers thought LeBron was praising D’Angelo Russell (he wasn’t)

When social media goes wrong.

46. SI’s Sam Hinkie 2.0 story

This brilliant Chris Ballard profile fueled two weeks’ worth of Twitter takes. I treasure this story like the beautiful young child it is.

47. Steph Curry and Draymond Green wearing cupcake shirts

After the Warriors bludgeoned the Thunder in Kevin Durant’s aforementioned return to OKC, Curry and Green acquired cupcake T-shirts ... and wore them in the postgame.

48. Michael Jordan trashes the Warriors to their owner’s face

During a meal while NBA owners negotiated a new collective bargaining agreement, the Hornets’ boss, who once won 72 as a player, trashed the Warriors’ empty 73-win record to Golden State owner Joe Lacob’s face because his team didn’t win the ring. MJ never loses.

49. JaVale McGee made Draymond Green-Face blankets

No one has more fun than the Warriors. Speaking of which ...

50. Steph Curry loses Marcin Gortat

Curry won’t be the MVP again, but he has some magical moments.

51. Steph Curry lays down to avoid a poster, fails

One of the funnier subplots at All-Star was Giannis Antetokounmpo playing way harder than anyone else. So when Curry was back to defend a Giannis break, he decided to avoid posterization by literally lying down. Giannis got him on a putback, like, a minute later anyways. Sheesh.

52. Steph Curry slides on the floor after a chest bump

This is my nominee for NBA Meme Material of the Year.

53. Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan on the Jumbrotron

There’s no friendship in the NBA more special than the one between Lowry and DeRozan. This moment captures that perfectly.

54. Epic Warriors jokes hit Jeopardy!

NBA Twitter denizen Loren Chen made it to Jeopardy! and delivered some high-profile meme jokes at the Warriors’ expense.

55. The Cavaliers’ Halloween party

As if the Warriors-Cavs rivalry needed more heat, LeBron had jokes for Golden State at his Halloween party. They have gravestone cookies for Steph Curry and Klay Thompson!

56. Dion Waiters forgets a quote he wanted to share

To be fair, Dion Waiters is too busy HITTING DAGGERS to remember stuff.

57. Shaq tackles his co-workers

When Randy Moss visits Inside the NBA, Shaq takes the opportunity to do what he wants to do every week: tackle Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith.

58. The Spurs retire Matt Bonner’s flannel shirt

Respect.

59. Festus Ezeli’s locker room speech gets shut down

Maybe the funniest scoop of the season from ESPN’s Chris Haynes:

After suffering a [...] loss to Milwaukee, Ezeli, in street clothes, addressed the team in the locker room with a stern speech centered on playing with urgency, sources told ESPN. Then two games later, after a crushing defeat in Memphis, Ezeli once again started giving a team speech, but he was cut short.

McCollum interrupted Ezeli in midsentence and told him that was enough, sources told ESPN. [...] Players were desperately pouring out every ounce of effort trying to change the trajectory of the season, and being lectured by someone who wasn't even playing wasn't received favorably.

60. MUSECAGE

What the hell are we doing here ESPN http://pic.twitter.com/10SHUqOrIv

— CJ Fogler (@cjzero) March 26, 2017

Kobe Bryant is getting even weirder in retirement. This is a snip (via @cjzero) from his education puppet show/horror film, which debuted in the middle of the day on ESPN and is intended for children.

61. "Keep Calm Like Kristaps Porzingis"

Latvian music video of the year every year for the rest of Porzingis’ career.

62. LeBron dancing like nobody is watching

... because he thinks that nobody is watching.

63. Mo Speights ethers the Clippers (he's a Clipper)

After a horrific loss to the Warriors, Speights, then brand new to L.A., implored the Clippers to stop being the Clippers.

64. Sweater Mom vs. Gold Suit Man

CHRISTMAS SWEATER MOM VS GOLD SUIT MAN DANCE OFF http://pic.twitter.com/F4WJZibHFh

— the geek freak (@rachaelhoops) November 27, 2016

65. The bonkers Nets vs. Clippers double overtime game

Nothing about this game made sense. Nothing.

66. J.R. Smith mid-possession dap

J.R. Smith stopped playing defense so he could say hello to his friend Jason Terry on the bench. The other team scored.

67. Klay Thompson living the best life

No one enjoys his awesome NBA life more than Klay Thompson, which is odd considering he so often looks grumpy. He enjoyed a mid-interview beer, showed off his paper plane engineering skills during a press conference, and brought his very good dog to work.

68. Obama cracks a J.R. Smith joke

The Cavaliers hustled to visit the White House two days after the election. Once there, No. 44 got in a crack on the Clown Prince of the NBA.

69. Zaza Pachulia’s erotic celebration

Zaza smacks his own butt and dances. Go Warriors.

70. Devin Booker gets ejected but still signs an autograph for a fan

This was overall the chillest ejection ever. Booker gave the ref a thumbs up, said bye to his homies, and signed a card for a fan on his way out.

71. Marc Gasol's billion dollar strut

I want to apologize.... TO ABSOLUTELY NOBODY!#GrindCity http://pic.twitter.com/JN6p8YdV0G

— Marc Gasol (@MarcGasol) November 17, 2016

72. Human Hungry, Hungry Hippos

This apparently existed out there in the world before this year, but the Cavaliers brought it to NBA intermissions and the world was never the same.

73. The Grizzlies’ mascot strips to "Pony"

For your viewing pleasure: @grizz dancing to @Ginuwine's Pony. http://pic.twitter.com/uySCMjagfT

— Memphis Grizzlies (@memgrizz) November 9, 2016

Grizz, the Memphis Grizzlies mascot, stripping to Ginuwine’s “Pony” is squarely in the middle of the Venn diagram that constitutes SB Nation’s wheelhouse. It gets better on every viewing, too.

74. Sam Dekker’s doink

Dekker almost had the Dunk of the Year, but he succeeded in winning Doink of the Year.

75. The Lakers' failed tank job

It’s difficult to understate how hilarious the Lakers’ failed attempt to lose to the 60-win Spurs in the final week of the season was. L.A. played Metta World Peace 17 minutes and still won!

76. Kemba Walker shimmies ... while his shot clanks

Here’s the blooper of the year. Kemba takes the classic Nick-Young-celebrating-a-miss moment and revs it up by giving us a shimmy.

AWE

We all crave moments that take our breath away. Basketball provides.

77. Russell Westbrook's 45-foot nutmeg bounce pass

I mean ... what? What? How? I don’t think I watched a highlight more times than I watched this one in 2016-17.

78. Anthony Davis' record-destroying All-Star fourth quarter

For 55 years, Wilt Chamberlain held the record for most points in the All-Star Game with 42. Davis destroyed it by double digits when he dropped 52 at home in NOLA in February. Those 52 points included 36 off dunks. It was that kind of All-Star Game.

79. Steph Curry’s impossible layup

Curry and the hoop must have a telepathic relationship or something.

80. John Wall between the legs pass on the break

We saw Westbrook go between someone else’s legs on the break. Wall does it to himself. Magical.

81. Steph Curry hits 13 threes in a game

The dude hit 13-of-17 from deep in a game back in November. If there were any questions as to how he’d play with Kevin Durant, he answered them. (We kept asking, nonetheless.)

82. Kyrie Irving fakes John Henson off the court

Best handles in the NBA.

83. The Knicks and Hawks go to four overtimes

This game included multiple clutch Carmelo Anthony shots, Paul Millsap playing 35 straight minutes and a full 60 overall, and a bonkers fourth overtime. The Hawks won, but isn’t it the journey that counts?

84. John Wall Shammgods Al-Farouq Aminu

If anyone can compete with Kyrie on insane handles, it’s Wall.

85. Kristaps Porzingis’ one-handed block

It’s too bad this only registers as a blocked shot in the box score. I feel like the Nets should have lost points when Kristaps did this.

86. Kris Dunn dribbles around Shabazz Napier

This is a dribble equivalent of a poster dunk. So much disrespect. Poor Shabazz is left having no idea what has occurred.

87. The Warriors score 149 in regulation

... and they didn’t even break a sweat! In fact, Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green all sat the fourth quarter.

88. Serge Ibaka Revenge Game

Serge actually got a perfectly respectful welcome back to Oklahoma City in his first game there after being traded to Orlando. But he was not respectful to the Thunder, scoring a career high and hitting a game-winner.

89. The Cavaliers’ White House mannequin challenge

Cleveland recruited Michelle Obama to participate in the best sports Mannequin Challenge during that meme’s run. What a way to cap eight years of basketball being the official sport of the White House.

90. Isaiah Thomas becomes a Boston legend

Isaiah has been incredible all season, but it was in January where he became the King in the Fourth with a string of clutch performances, including this game-winner against the Hawks.

91. Klay Thompson's 60 in 29 minutes

When you play with Steph Curry and Kevin Durant, you get clean looks more often than usual. That doesn’t mean that scoring five dozen in less than a half-hour of play is anything less than insane. Klay is my top candidate to drop 75 in a game in the next five years.

92. Westbrook's 57-point triple-double against the Magic

This was the individual performance of the year for me, edging the next moment on the list. The Thunder, fighting for favorable playoff position, trailed the Magic in the fourth. Russ took over and sent the game to overtime with a game-tying triple. He ended up registering the highest-scoring triple-double ever.

93. Devin Booker's 70

The young Booker became the sixth player ever to score 70. Sure, he did it in part because the Suns intentionally fouled the Celtics in garbage time to get the ball back for Devin. They still count. Booker is super legit.

94. Giannis Antetokounmpo covers 45 feet in one dribble

How?!

95. The LeBron vs. Paul George duel

As LeBron and the Cavaliers prepared for the playoffs and PG and the Pacers were fighting just to make it, the duo had an epic duel that eventually ended with a Cleveland win but an Indiana moral victory.

96. The Warriors vs. Rockets thriller

Houston’s signature win of the season came in the best game of the season ... and the first one that kept everyone up way too late on a weeknight. We had a James Harden triple-double, a Kevin Durant explosion, and a Draymond Green kick — pretty much everything you could want from Rockets-Warriors minus Patrick Beverley ending someone’s season.

97. Marc Gasol’s no-look outlet

This was the season in which Marc’s latent swag came into full view.

98. James Harden's wild no-look lob

This is one of those plays that looks so pretty in realtime and then completely blows your mind when you slow it down and see what happened. It’s a perfect symbol of the extraordinary season Harden had.

99. An impossible Warriors fast break

Steph Curry just throws it up & KD flushes it home! https://t.co/BFKnzbfVnn

— NBA TV (@NBATV) December 6, 2016

Eighty feet without the ball ever touching the floor, and after it leaves Draymond Green’s hands, it never even touches someone whose feet are touching the floor. Unreal.

100. Kevin Love outlet to LeBron for the tie

This incredible play sent an incredible game between the Cavaliers and the Wizards to overtime. In case you’d forgotten, Love can pass as well as any big man and LeBron is cold as a Popsicle in Nunavut.

101. THE BEST MOMENT OF THE NBA SEASON

And finally, the best, most appropriate moment of the 2016-17 NBA season: Metta World Peace hitting a free throw and declaring to all who care to listen: “I love basketball!”

Metta World Peace just loves basketball https://t.co/1jjdkANloe :: @TheCauldron

— SB Nation NBA (@SBNationNBA) November 2, 2016

Thanks for spending the regular season with us. Stick around for the playoffs, too. It’ll be great.

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