The Dumbest Thing in Sports

Kyrie Irving: Cavs got extra motivation from Warriors’ ‘chatter'

There is absolutely no way the Cavs were "motivated" by any of the things the Warriors may have said or done. Even if they say it helped motivate them, I am sure it had zero affect on their performance.

For all sorts of reasons, we tend to prescribe value to things that have no value. Particularly when we try to explain drastic differences in performance, we lean on mental factors as a crutch. If being down 3-0 in the Finals wasn't enough to motivate the Cavs to perform at their best, no words from Draymond Green would have helped.

Not even when Steph Curry allegedly pantomimed pooping on the Quicken Loans Arena floor at the end of Game 3.

No Guarantees

While the basketball world, and 2/5ths of my household is incredibly excited about Kevin Durant joining the Golden State Warriors, I don't think we should skip the season and hand them the title just yet.
First of all, as a basketball fan, one who lost interest in the NBA when it seemed all good players did at the end of the game was run into defenders and hope to get fouled, I love watching the Warriors.
We recorded 10:30pm ET games and watched them the next day, even though I often knew the result. Their style of play was a joy to watch, and it is only going to get better with Kevin Durant.
The Warriors could literally put four guys on the 3-point line, with Draymond Green in the middle, shoot nothing but 3s and still win 60 games in the regular season.
I cannot wait to see Durant, Curry and Thompson play together.
But I fear the losses of Barnes and Bogut may hurt them defensively and on the boards, especially in the playoffs.
Clearly, no team ever can match their offensive firepower. Regardless of the result it promises to be one of the most memorable teams ever.
But expectations are so high, they have to win 74 games AND the title to not be considered a disappointment.
And let's say something goes wrong, especially with Curry's health, will the Warriors will be willing -- and able -- to sign him to the max contract after next season.
Who knows what will happen, but it will sure be fun to watch.

Disappointment

It's been a rough sporting year in the Poop household as the Mets lost the World Series, Syracuse got beaten in the Final Four, the Redskins lost a playoff game at home and now our adopted NBA team, the Golden State Warriors loses a heart-breaking Game 7 of the NBA Finals.
A lot of excitement got us to that point, but all four magical runs ended in disappointment.

Note: I am a Knicks fan. Chase still insists he is a Knicks fan. But Stephen Curry and the Warriors are so much fun to watch, it's a much better introduction to the game of basketball for a young fan than watching the Knicks lose would be.

All season we recorded late night Warriors games and watched them the next day. Throughout the playoffs, I watched the games, recorded them and Chase watched the second half before school.

The boys stayed up to watch Game 7, and ended up going to bed in tears.

A few thoughts:

1) Stephen Curry played like garbage in the Finals, especially during Game 7. It wasn't just his poor shooting, which was his most glaring weakness. It was his lack of urgency and his ball-handling that seemed like it belonged in a February game against Sacramento, not Game 7 of the Finals against LeBron.

I couldn't find any good pictures to prove it but I am pretty sure that Curry's shooting form was off. He used to have perfect form, straight up and down, head over feet. Many times during the playoffs, and especially the Finals he seemed to be shooting while leaning forward. Maybe it's his knee injury, maybe it's fatigue, maybe he just got out of wack, but he just didn't seem right.

2) This game doesn't tarnish the Warriors legacy, much. They are a great team, NBA champs, 73 wins, return trip to the Finals. A couple more years of this and they're right up there with the Jordan Bulls, Russell Celtics, Wilt Lakers as the best teams of all time.

3) It does tarnish Curry's legacy. He came up small in the biggest game of his career. And he wasn't so great in last year's Finals, either.

4) It absolutely does cement LeBron's legacy. He has 3 NBA titles, six straight years in the Finals, and he made a legendary all-time play with his block on Iguodala to preserve the game. He is definitely in the top 5 all-time with Jordan, Magic, Russell and Wilt.

5) I guess I'm the only one who roots for these long championship droughts to continue. I like it, it adds an extra story line and drama. Now no one cares when the Red Sox are in the World Series. And who really cares about San Diego as a loser city, they only have two teams and nice weather. Having Cleveland and their near misses to talk about made it interesting whenever they got close.

What a Difference Six Homers Makes

One of my favorite parts of the start of baseball season is when some young rookie comes up and gets off to a hot start and I get to go into the basement to see if I have any of his rookie cards to sell.

When Rockies shortstop Trevor Story came up and hit home runs in each of his first two at bats, his name immediately sounded familiar.
I remembered I had his 2013 Bowman Chrome Farm's Finest Mini Blue Wave refractor. Which is limited to only 250.

The card is currently listed on eBay, and whereas before the season it was going for less than $5, I am hoping it will bring in at least $15 now.

Unfortunately I was not lucky enough to have his 2011 Bowman Chrome autograph rookie.
That card could have been had for $25-$35 on Opening Day.

Six home runs later, more than 100 of them have been sold this week, and they are now going for nearly $150.

Often times these cards come plummeting right back down to earth, but one of those other times, I regret every day.

It was mid-November, basketball season had just started and the Warriors were hot. I decided I wanted to get Chase a Steph Curry rookie for Hanukkah.

I checked eBay and noticed cards were going for $60-$75 when only a couple weeks earlier they were $40, and in the offseason going for $20-$30. Then Curry reached even greater heights, his popularity soared as the Warriors almost never lost and the cards shot up to $300.
Since then they have pulled back under $200, but I still haven't bought one, and I fear I may never get the chance.

Pi Day Gets Even Better

When it comes to birthdays, especially in sports, December 30th is the undefeated, undisputed King of Birthdays with LeBron James, Tiger Woods and Sandy Koufax.
February 17th with Jim Brown and Michael Jordan is a close second.
But in the Poop house, it's all about March 14th.
Not only is it Pi Day, 3.14.
It is my all-time favorite player's birthday:

Kirby Puckett would be 55 were he still alive today.

It is also the birthday of Chase's favorite player:

Steph Curry turns 28 today.

And you haven't heard of her yet but you soon will, Simone Biles turns 19 today. She is likely going to be America's Sweetheart emerging from this year's Summer Olympics in Rio. She has won the all-around competition at the last 3 World Championships and is the prohibitive favorite to do so at the Olympics as well.

And if that's not enough, Albert Einstein was born on March 14, 1879, 137 years ago.

Three Curry Commercials

A young Stephen Curry stars in a Burger King commercial with his father, Dell.



An older Stephen Curry does an hilarious "This is Sportscenter" commercial.



Not related to Stephen Curry directly but "the time he hit a 38-foot shot to win the game in overtime, and you wish at some point, at some moment in your life, that you could be that perfect too. And that's why you cheer for him. That's why you believe in heroes."

Every Kid Deserves a Favorite Player

The best part about being a kid who loves sports is picking a favorite player.
I picked Kirby Puckett. The Concierge picked Latrell Sprewell and Vin Baker.
Chase has picked Stephen Curry.
We started to watch and like the Warriors last season, but all that has accelerated since we got a basketball hoop over the summer (and Chase spent a lot of time practicing his shot -- though he still can't make many on 10-foot rims) and the Warriors started their amazing run at the Bulls 72-10 NBA record.

We read articles about the Warriors and about Curry. Chase really liked the one comparing Curry to a ballet dancer.
He got a Curry jersey shirt for Hanukkah, which may set off a civil war in our house.

We were so excited when the Warriors decided to name their new arena after him.

When he had to a book report on a biography, Steph Curry was his first choice. When Mrs. Poop expressed skepticism, he said he would do Draymond Green instead.
We did find a book on Curry and he is reading it now and telling me all about Dell Curry's childhood.
And of course, we record late night games that are on TV and watch them the next day.
So it was that we were running around the living room, shouting at 10am on a Sunday morning after Curry drilled an amazing 38-footer in overtime to beat the Thunder.



Of course there is a danger, especially in this day and age of letting a kid fall so deeply in love with a player.
That player could end up on drugs, or on the front page of the paper for beating his wife.
But with Curry so far the worst thing he did was shimmy in front of the Hawks bench (which I showed Chase and told him not to emulate).

But perhaps the biggest reason Chase likes Curry is because of their size. They're both usually the smallest players on the floor.

But maybe with hard work Chase can learn to dribble, pass and even shoot like Steph Curry.

And that's why kids need heroes.

3000 Words

Justin Timberlake, Christina Aguilera, Britney Spears and Ryan Gosling in the Mickey Mouse Club

Guy makes a portrait of Steph Curry out of salt.

Continuing in the tradition of Dingle-Berry, Short-White-Cox and Clark-Griswold, the Sacramento Kings show they're just like many of us: they have Gay-Cousins.