Alfa Romeo has just about the worst straight line speed in F1 at the moment. Either they don't get the full benefit of DRS somehow or other teams' speed advantage is enhanced even more. The Miami track seems easy on the hard tire, which is the plan they went with Verstappen, and that got him the win.
SPORTS BALL!!! v2.0
- Thread starter Xprimentyl
- Start date
Yeah, the changes between 2022 and 2023 are pretty apparent. McLaren and Alpha Tauri are both really struggling when they where relatively contentious midfield teams less than a year ago. Aston Martin, well, Fernando Alonso is showing some dominance when you take Stroll out of the picture, but even he has been stronger this year. Ferrari have shown they need to be reckoned with... when LeClerc isn't in a random wall somewhere. Haas? OMG? Hass looks fucking scary good compared to what they've shown in the years since I started watching. It's not unique to AR, but they certainly feel like one of the teams who took some steps back, and it's hard to watch. I shouldn't be watching "hoping" for red flags and DNFs for other teams to get into the points when this time last year Bottas had proven he could contend in his car.
So... Ja Morant is just kind of an idiot huh?
There's a lot to be said about why a young (extremely rich) black man thinks it's alright to be irresponsible with his firearms on social media. But ignoring all that, that he did it AGAIN just maybe a month or two after his first offense makes me think the guy is just straight up dumb.
There's a lot to be said about why a young (extremely rich) black man thinks it's alright to be irresponsible with his firearms on social media. But ignoring all that, that he did it AGAIN just maybe a month or two after his first offense makes me think the guy is just straight up dumb.
Yes, he's a complete idiot. While I completely agree "mental health" is important, it has recently become a catch-all excuse for poor judgement, and treatments only go as far as the patient can appreciate their role in their choices. Words like "depression" and "anxiety," with nets that broad, you're gonna catch 99% of people; why wealth and talent puts some apart from the rest of us is baffling.
Ja Morant is an idiot who is abusing his position in life, just as so many throughout history have done. He's nothing new, nothing special. He'll likely serve another suspension, apologize publicly, blame his mental state, then go on to make a few more millions of dollars.
Just once, just ONCE, I'd love for one of these people to state simply "I was stupid, and being beyond substantial reproach, i rolled the dice and lost... AGAIN."
So the Italian GP at Imola this weekend has been cancelled due to flooding in the area. They didn't want to put the added stress and strain on local resources, authorities, and emergency services that come with a Formula 1 weekend. I get it, and hope everyone stays safe and this disaster comes to a head, but...
I had my whole F1 weekend planned; now I'm stuck watching sports pundits jerk each other off over the NBA, NHL and MLB, three sports I couldn't care less about if I tried.
I used to be big into basketball in the 90s, it didn't hurt that I grew up in Chicagoland and Michael Jordan was in his prime. But since that era, basketball has progressively gotten worse; less physical, players are called great when they don't even play to win (like James Harden and Kevin Durant, not as bad as Harden), analytics is so overemphasized (Celtics are the microcosm for that) to where it's just 3 pointers and layups. The game of basketball just doesn't have those, what I call, death blows (Seinfeld reference) to where something momentous can happen at any point in the game to vastly change it like in baseball you can hit a grand slam or football you can score a long TD and then next play your team can get a pick-6 interception and that's a 14-point swing in less than a minute. Basketball is like you can hit a 3 and be like "I scored 1 additional point than normal, booyah!!!" So usually the only really game deciding moments are the last 5 minutes or so and it feels like wasted time watching the whole game. So the last 20 or so years, I just kinda keep up with basketball watching the occasional sports talk show segment here and there, I pay attention during the playoffs and watch the 10-15 minute game highlights on Youtube of certain series and whatnot.
With all that said, I might actually look to watch a full live game of basketball in like 20 years because of...
MOTHERFUCKING JIMMY BULTER
This guy is everything you love to see in a player of any sport. He's just a straight-up dog that does literally everything to win, he does all the little things and grinds his ass off to win the game. He also comes up biggest in the most important sports. Jimmy might be my favorite player since Jordan. He also does similar shit as Jordan as in the last game, Grant Williams, a bench player, started trash talking Butler in the last game, and Jimmy literally hunted him down on offense and scored all the points to cut Boston's ~10 point lead to nothing and then take the lead. And he did it in the most humiliating way too, Jimmy just had his team on stand on the left side of the court so he had the whole right side to himself so he could bring it to this trash talking bench player possession after possession.
These stories from the following video are so Jordan-esque. One time in Minnesota, Butler played on the B-team against all the starters, owned them all in a scrimmage, left practice and went on ESPN to say how much dominated all the starters. When the rest of the team finished practice, they came into the locker room to see Jimmy on TV
With all that said, I might actually look to watch a full live game of basketball in like 20 years because of...
MOTHERFUCKING JIMMY BULTER
This guy is everything you love to see in a player of any sport. He's just a straight-up dog that does literally everything to win, he does all the little things and grinds his ass off to win the game. He also comes up biggest in the most important sports. Jimmy might be my favorite player since Jordan. He also does similar shit as Jordan as in the last game, Grant Williams, a bench player, started trash talking Butler in the last game, and Jimmy literally hunted him down on offense and scored all the points to cut Boston's ~10 point lead to nothing and then take the lead. And he did it in the most humiliating way too, Jimmy just had his team on stand on the left side of the court so he had the whole right side to himself so he could bring it to this trash talking bench player possession after possession.
These stories from the following video are so Jordan-esque. One time in Minnesota, Butler played on the B-team against all the starters, owned them all in a scrimmage, left practice and went on ESPN to say how much dominated all the starters. When the rest of the team finished practice, they came into the locker room to see Jimmy on TV
Even though I struggle to see the Heat beating the Nuggets, I am rooting for Jimmy. His story is just too good to not end in victory. The Heat in general are like what the Warriors used to be. The underdogs succeeding because they saw value in their players when no one else did. How can you not root for that?I used to be big into basketball in the 90s, it didn't hurt that I grew up in Chicagoland and Michael Jordan was in his prime. But since that era, basketball has progressively gotten worse; less physical, players are called great when they don't even play to win (like James Harden and Kevin Durant, not as bad as Harden), analytics is so overemphasized (Celtics are the microcosm for that) to where it's just 3 pointers and layups. The game of basketball just doesn't have those, what I call, death blows (Seinfeld reference) to where something momentous can happen at any point in the game to vastly change it like in baseball you can hit a grand slam or football you can score a long TD and then next play your team can get a pick-6 interception and that's a 14-point swing in less than a minute. Basketball is like you can hit a 3 and be like "I scored 1 additional point than normal, booyah!!!" So usually the only really game deciding moments are the last 5 minutes or so and it feels like wasted time watching the whole game. So the last 20 or so years, I just kinda keep up with basketball watching the occasional sports talk show segment here and there, I pay attention during the playoffs and watch the 10-15 minute game highlights on Youtube of certain series and whatnot.
With all that said, I might actually look to watch a full live game of basketball in like 20 years because of...
MOTHERFUCKING JIMMY BULTER
This guy is everything you love to see in a player of any sport. He's just a straight-up dog that does literally everything to win, he does all the little things and grinds his ass off to win the game. He also comes up biggest in the most important sports. Jimmy might be my favorite player since Jordan. He also does similar shit as Jordan as in the last game, Grant Williams, a bench player, started trash talking Butler in the last game, and Jimmy literally hunted him down on offense and scored all the points to cut Boston's ~10 point lead to nothing and then take the lead. And he did it in the most humiliating way too, Jimmy just had his team on stand on the left side of the court so he had the whole right side to himself so he could bring it to this trash talking bench player possession after possession.
These stories from the following video are so Jordan-esque. One time in Minnesota, Butler played on the B-team against all the starters, owned them all in a scrimmage, left practice and went on ESPN to say how much dominated all the starters. When the rest of the team finished practice, they came into the locker room to see Jimmy on TV
Welp. Celtics could be about to make history and come back from a 0-3 deficit. A big ol oof for Miami. Even if they survive, they'll be tired as fuck for the Nuggets.
Monaco GP is usually boring, but a wet Monaco slightly less so. Red Bull's race tactics only add to them having the best car, but damn Perez for ruining the chances for an interesting season championship-wise.
The Heat blew out the Celtics for game 7. I haven't heard much but I did see that Jayson Tatum got injured on literally the first play of the game. Tough luck. Let's hope the Nuggets are actually challenged in the finals, they've been cruising past every team so far.
I think FI has officially outgrown Monaco. I know how iconic it is as the sport goes, but a track where qualifying is pretty much the race results is hard to get excited about. I won't lie, though; Bottas doesn't get as much air time since leaving Mercedes, but I was watching the ticker like a hawk. He was SO CLOSE in P11 to getting into the points! That rain did make things interesting otherwise, but it came at a very inopportune moment for my guy. I watched him switch to intermediates, and about blew a gasket... until I saw the whole field do the same thing almost immediately. McLaren scraped by, but Alfa was right on their heels. Anyway, onto Spain...
The stage is set -
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2023 NBA Finals Schedule | NBA.com
The NBA Play-In Tournament takes place April 11-14. The first round of the playoffs starts April 15. Game 1 of the NBA Finals will be June 1.
I'd say the Celtics would be the easier opponent for the Nuggets because the Celtics play such an analytical standard of basketball. I don't see the Celtics winning at all because the Nuggets are just better at what the Celtics already do. Whereas the Heat play rather differently overall and could cause the Nuggets issues just because they're different. I still could see the Nuggets sweeping the Heat because what the Heat's unique play affords them in advantages can be negated by Denver's home court advantage and then when the series gets to Miami, the Nuggets can then be used to the Heat's style by then. I don't see too many commentators talking about Denver's unique home court advantage and it's a pretty big element.
Can we just get Bottas some 90-inch rims already?? I'm so tired of "floor damage" ruining his races!! But Zhou scored some points for the team; that's a thing. He looked really competent and determined out there, refusing to accept his bottom-field relegation in an uncompetitive car. I also liked that Bottas willingly accepted his lack of pace and tried to support Zhou by holding up the few cars behind him as best he could. All in all, Alfa Romeo stinks this year, but they're doing the best they can with what they've got. I say pool all of Alfa Romeo's resources and scalp Adrian Newey from Red Bull!! Seriously, throw the whole bankroll at that guy. Until they can figure out how to build a car that actually competes, they're wasting their time and money.
Verstappen's wins in that car are basically a foregone conclusion for the foreseeable future; no one's even close. Mercedes jerking themselves off for their P2-P3 finish, but have to acknowledge P1 was still a country mile away. It's not even fun to watch the front of the field any more; the most interesting parts to watch are the midfield teams who have all but zero chance to win!
Verstappen's wins in that car are basically a foregone conclusion for the foreseeable future; no one's even close. Mercedes jerking themselves off for their P2-P3 finish, but have to acknowledge P1 was still a country mile away. It's not even fun to watch the front of the field any more; the most interesting parts to watch are the midfield teams who have all but zero chance to win!
Yeah. Aston Martin's tire strategy in the race was pretty puzzling too, when everyone else made the middle stint with hards or mediums, they opted for softs. Luckily the car has good enough pace so that Alonso could overtake people and get 7th in the end with the hard set on. Stroll got an amazing start, but he can't compete with the RBs or Mercedes even when having a good day.
As much as I miss Bottas' 10 wins and competing with Mercedes, I think what I miss most from the "good ol' days" is how the front of the grid was actually interesting. Even with Hamilton's dominance, races were tighter and more competitive. Maybe it's rose-colored glasses (I know he ran away with quite a few,) but I don't recall feeling so often that if Hamilton got the jump from P1 into turn 1, the race was over. As it stands, If Verstappen takes pole and isn't overtaken immediately, you might as well just call him into the garage, give him the trophy, and let the spectators enjoy the fights between the other 19 cars.
The only true challenger Verstappen has is Perez... the other RB. But even he appears "human" when compared to the rest of the field, i.e.: his car is dominant, but not entirely unbeatable.
So the PGA and LIV Golf leagues have merged. I don't personally have any strong feelings about it, but the buzz that's dividing people seems to be that LIV players (who defected from the PGA to LIV for better pay and less restriction) are just being welcomed back like prodigal sons, except instead of humbling themselves, they're coming back with the proverbial expensive cars and gold chains having learned only that their actions had no consequences, while the PGA purists who didn't take the money for the integrity of the sport are just... left doing their jobs?
The thing that bugs me is that all decisions were made without player input or even knowledge. Like, "y'know your brother who slapped your mom and kicked your dad in the balls before storming out of the house to do his own thing? Yeah, he's back home, and he gets your top bunk, and he has a bigger allowance. Btw, don't stop mowing the lawn, the laundry needs folding when you're done doing that, and bedtime is 9pm sharp per usual." Personally, I'd be pissed, but the reality of the things is the LIV players gambled and won. I don't expect a happy reception for the LIV guys, but "whatcha gonna do?" will likely be their mantra as they strut the course, gainfully employed, if making perhaps slightly less than the Saudis payed them to risk it all to make LIV a PGA competitor.
The thing that bugs me is that all decisions were made without player input or even knowledge. Like, "y'know your brother who slapped your mom and kicked your dad in the balls before storming out of the house to do his own thing? Yeah, he's back home, and he gets your top bunk, and he has a bigger allowance. Btw, don't stop mowing the lawn, the laundry needs folding when you're done doing that, and bedtime is 9pm sharp per usual." Personally, I'd be pissed, but the reality of the things is the LIV players gambled and won. I don't expect a happy reception for the LIV guys, but "whatcha gonna do?" will likely be their mantra as they strut the course, gainfully employed, if making perhaps slightly less than the Saudis payed them to risk it all to make LIV a PGA competitor.
My buddy randomly messaged me Thursday:
I'm not jealous, no; this is beyond mere jealousy. I'm quaking with unbridled fury. He's not only at the Montreal GP, he's on the fucking paddock, and snapping pics of MY favorite driver just to send to me and gloat. Oh, and his seats? Dead center between turns 1 and 2. I'm not jealous; I'm wishing him actual harm. I want a tire to hop the fence at 200mph and hit him in the chest. I want him to slip on maple syrup, fall into the pits, and get run over by Max Verstappen. Alas, all I've gotten so far is rain, and he assured me he brought his umbrella. This package had to have cost him a fortune, WAY more than I'll probably ever be able to afford unless I'm willed some cash from a wealthy relative. It'd probably have been cheaper to just MOVE to Canada.
I'm not jealous, no; this is beyond mere jealousy. I'm quaking with unbridled fury. He's not only at the Montreal GP, he's on the fucking paddock, and snapping pics of MY favorite driver just to send to me and gloat. Oh, and his seats? Dead center between turns 1 and 2. I'm not jealous; I'm wishing him actual harm. I want a tire to hop the fence at 200mph and hit him in the chest. I want him to slip on maple syrup, fall into the pits, and get run over by Max Verstappen. Alas, all I've gotten so far is rain, and he assured me he brought his umbrella. This package had to have cost him a fortune, WAY more than I'll probably ever be able to afford unless I'm willed some cash from a wealthy relative. It'd probably have been cheaper to just MOVE to Canada.
Welp, the Montreal GP was pretty exciting [for me.] Max Verstappen won, because of course he did, but the fights behind him kept me glued to the screen. For the first time in a long time, team strategy actually worked in Bottas' favor. He started on the hard compound tire, and went to the medium. I thought they were two-stopping him, but it became evident they were confident the mediums could take him to the end. He found himself in a DRS train, and managed to stave off Lando Norris for a healthy stint, but Norris eventually got past him (I knew he would.) The final stretch was him holding off Lance Stroll for a points finish, and my girlfriend jinxed it all when she thought the points allocation they showed on screen during the final lap were final, and asked (annoyed) what was still I worried about as I smoked a cigarette with my leg jumping up and down, anxiety through the roof. I had to remind her, with some unkind words, that the points weren't set, we still had a lap to go, and Stroll was within DRS range. Sure as shit, Stroll overtook Bottas in the final seconds, pushing Bottas out of the points, but Norris received a 5-second penalty earlier in the race which pushed him down to P13, and Bottas up to P10 for the last point. It was a good day. Could have been better, but I'll never frown at Bottas in the points.
The final stretch was a letdown after holding Stroll back for so long. But the Canadian is driving the second fastest car on the grid (just not in his hands, obviously). All in all a good strategy on Bottas' side and the same can be said for the Ferraris. In other news it can be said with pretty high confidence that Perez can't compete for the title. Only Max. Unless they start changing some of his car parts to licorice, he'll be crowned triple champion.