Joker.
Joker.
The Cast
Date: 02 September 2020
FILLERBUSTER’S ELEVEN
BACKGROUND: This started as a long-winded numbered blog. It transformed into an organized long-winded category blog. Now, it is a quick-hitter to ease your pain. I lack time. So, the preparation of the blog actually made me procrastinate from writing the thing. Let’s see who makes the cut. Barely edited as usual unfortunately, so please excuse any mistakes during my stream of consciousness. I feel the need…the need for speed. Let’s turn and burn.
SETTING: This is started on Monday after work and before band practice. Added to here and there during NBA basketball on Tuesday night. Tidied up and released on Wednesday morning before work. I wanted to have the Nuggets Game 7 resolution and some feedback before this went live.
- EVERGREEN 1: JOHN THOMPSON. We lost Coach John Thompson this week. Sometimes when someone is “larger than life,” it is not about the physical size of the person. Now, John Thompson was ALSO a pretty large person, but he also filled a room with his mentality and personality more than most people could. He coached and won a title in the old school Big East, which somewhat owned the 80’s pretty much in consistency with their rivalries and top-tiered players. He was the first black coach to win a title. The last day or two has been filled with ex-players, media members, and opposing coaches telling their best John Thompson story. He took Allen Iverson under his wing, and Allen’s speech to John at his HOF ceremony has been replayed many times in the last 48 hours (see below in my tweets). He recruited Patrick Ewing before that and won a title with him. He then got Alonzo Mourning and Dikembe Mutombo to become his own version of Big Man U. He met 10 years after 9/11 with the Jim Rome Show employee who changed his flight to the 12th. I know it from Jim Rome, but it actually is still listed in his Wikipedia entry. Most forget that he was a backup for two years in the NBA, when he won two straight titles with the Celtics. Who did he back up? Some guy named Bill Russell. He took his Georgetown teams to etiquette class so they could expand their mind outside of basketball and be knowledgeable in society. He walked off courts when he had to, he cared for any underdogs not getting their fair shake, and said “I find it amusing” when he actually disagreed with something. John Thompson will never be on the top tier of winning college coaches by stats or games, but when you hear others talk about John before and after his death, you get the feeling that he was on the top tier of impact coaches and people to converse with ever in the college ranks or in any ranks. RIP, John.
- EVERGREEN 2: LUTE OLSON. We lost Lute Olson also recently in a really bad week for college basketball royalty. I always forget about Lute’s successful career at Iowa before he ended up at Arizona, where he really made his name. But, in Iowa, they actually called the arena the House That Lute Built and he took them to a Final Four. The Arizona Wildcats had one four games total the year before he came over, and only one game in conference play. They had a winning season within two years, and Zona became regulars in the Final Four and in the NCAA Tournament. Lute added four more Final Fours and one title. Lute’s teams were consistent and well-coached, and typically he developed players into NBA caliber talents. He won the 1997 title from the #4 seed slot, and most people forget that team going through Kansas, Kentucky, and Carolina, three of THE Blue Blodds, to get there. That team ruled the backcourt, as Miles Simon, Michael Dickerson, and Mike Bibby were the leaders. Lute was a quality man off the court and a great family man also, and we will all miss him.
- NFL: URLACHER. This is really sad what is going on with Brian Urlacher. I never want to hear about an illness someone is going through, but I might be more scared if Brian WASN’T going through something that is affecting is logic. In the last week, Urlacher called out the NBA players when they boycotted the games. He basically said that if Favre threw four TD’s while playing on the day of his father’s death, that NBA players shouldn’t stand down while a kid got shot by the police. This is so off on many levels that even the Bears are disassociating from Urlacher publicly. The parallel is totally wrong, and he seems to be missing the point of what the NBA players are doing. He also has been flagged for being on social media with “Patriots Lives Matter,” and “Free Kyle Rittenhouse.” This is not a good look for you, Brian, and it saddens me to ruin the legendary playing career you had. I think we all hope to see your apology or explanation very soon.
- COLLEGE FOOTBALL: POSITION U. The AP Preseason Football Poll was released since we last talked. Now, we could talk about how many teams in the poll won’t even be playing, or that 23 Preseason All-Americans are not slated to play, or how LSU has lost a few big NFL caliber names due to opting out because of COVID reasons or NFL Draft reasons or diluted season reasons, but that would be saddening. So, let’s just move on to a different list. What do you say? I found this one interesting. Who feeds the NFL with each position the most in the NFL? Who is Position U at each spot? Well, take a look. Three real things in the last couple of days. These two lists and Manti Te’o’s new wife over the weekend. https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/29601197/position-u-20-which-schools-produce-most-college-football-talent-position
- NBA. BUBBLE NOTES. We knew the Sixers were dysfunctional to a point, but when they lost Ben Simmons, they folded like a tent to the Celtics. The Miami Heat are really fun to watch, and they have shooters seemingly everywhere. A Miami Heat-Houston Rockets Finals won’t happen most likely, but man would it be insanely fun to watch. They took down Game 1 against the Bucks in Round 2 and seem to think they are a threat. They are. The Rockets attempted FIFTY-EIGHT three’s the other day. That is ridiculously believing in your small-ball system. Luka Doncic provided the social media moment of the week with his OT buzzer beater, and it is a shame that injuries wouldn’t allow the Mavs to compete much more after that game. He put his name in households though, and if they get a third weapon, they are legit contenders. I still was chuckling about Brett Brown saying the fans got them back into the game when the Sixers fired him after being swept, and he was NOT the problem mostly. That is some odd personnel they made him coach. The pandemic occurred, he lost Ben Simmons, it is not the perfectly constructed team, and they needed a scapegoat. Nick Nurse deserved that Coach of the Year nod. He lost his superstar, and that team rolls on like nothing ever happened. BUT, I said here way back when that if I didn’t pick the Sixers, I was taking the Celtics. I think they will take down the Eastern Conference. They are now up 2-0 against the Raptors. Almost as fun as the games are the predictions of Charles Barkley. He would pick a winner, and they would get CRUSHED, usually by halftime. Joel Embiid bets on the side, because he had a last second three-pointer with the clock expiring, with game already fully lost, that literally made his team fully cover. He is leaving the bubble and heading to Vegas I assume…or any state where you can gamble now, which would include Jersey. Utah and Denver played a Game 7 on Tuesday, and Jamal Murray is now the hottest player in the bubble, as he is dropping 50 like it is nothing. When the most amount of points dropped in three playoff games was MJ before you, then you are on fire. His postgame interview was also moving after Game 6, if you catch that somewhere. What happened in Game 7? Well, it was a defensive, tentatively played game that was much different in style than the other games. Both teams made adjustments to make sure no one was scoring 50 in this one, along with those players both being a little off from outside. But, it was competitive, and came down to the wire. Jamal didn’t blow up in scoring like other games, but still got the job done when he needed to. I was horrified for about 2 seconds at the end when the Nuggets pressed on a break (stupidly) while up two with 9 seconds left after a steal, but a Conley miss from deep saved the day. The Nuggets almost blew it, it was a much tougher win defensively, they needed Utah to not be “on,” and they should be complimented for coming back from 3-1 regardless. Survive and advance is the name of the game. Now they face the Clippers, who not only arguably have the best player in the league, but also have a Robin to Batman, are deep and play defense, and will pose lots of problems to the Nuggets methodology. I would love to believe the Nuggets can take them down in 7. What I see is more of Clips in 6. But, I think there is a WAY for the Nuggets to prematurely beat the Clippers. Just have Jamal Murray stay on fire. That might work. But, at least we get more Jokic interviews. Please keep them short since I don’t think he knows more than 40 words or so. Wait. I just realized I called Kawhi Batman and Paul George Robin, and we already HAVE the Joker. I walked right into that one. All of the special thoughts on Mamba Day were pretty cool to see. What a horrible year, and weird to think that his death was back in January leading 2020 off to a bad run. There might not be a bubble next year, and I know I definitely enjoyed the afternoon playoff games in the background during the first round. That is now done sadly. The Blazers were the hot team, but that magic they created during the seeding games probably exhausted them. They allowed the Lakers to put EIGHTY on them in the first half. Then, they got hurt and the party was over officially. Nikola Jokic is already at #10 in all time NBA triple doubles. That is crazy. Paul George telling us that the bubble got to him was a very moving postgame speech. He seemed checked out, what he said was very honest, and I respect him so much for having the courage to be that honest. Very transparent. The Pacers fired Nate McMillan, and he will surface somewhere else and be successful. He didn’t have his best player for the bubble (Sabonis), and shouldn’t be terminated for it. I think that this firing, Gentry, and Brown were ALL unfair actually, considering we are in the middle of a pandemic in a bubble with protests going on in every city and players opting out. Doc Rivers postgame speech last week was moving to say the least, and probably the reason for the boycott in the first place. Giannis won DPOY, but that is not the award he is looking for. Kenny Smith walking out on the set was real, transparent, and thoughtful. Cliff Robinson died at 53 years young, and I enjoyed hearing old school players talk about playing against him. Chris Paul proved he is Mr. Clutch again in Game 6, and James Harden will have some VERY hard questions to answer if he loses this series. He has the better team, the Thunder have overachieved, Westbrook came back during the series, and his legacy gets a little shaky with a first-round exit.
- NHL: WEDNESDAY. You can follow other leagues late and release a statement why. You can boycott earlier. Or you can not boycott at all and stand firm. But, I have something to tell you, NHL executives. I love the NHL playoffs, and your players are the classiest athletes in business, but you guys looked weird playing the Wednesday after the NBA boycott. Then, you decided to sit out the next day, but it was almost like someone had to force you to. Not your proudest moment.
- MLB: CLEVINGER AND CATCHUPS. Of course the Indians traded Mike Clevinger after his exploits, and the Rockies getting Kevin Pillar from the Red Sox is sort of fun, but I would prefer to share you the midseason catchup article that was a nice summary thus far. Haven’t fully tuned into MLB yet or waiting to see if it succeeds in moving forward? Well, here you go. Full catchup where everything stands. https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/29732868/everything-need-know-halfway-point-mlb-season
- MISCELLANEOUS: THE OTHER US OPEN. Don’t forget some good tennis is on. True, it is diluted somewhat on the ladies side, and more diluted on the men’s side. But, it still is a Slam, it still is live sports, and we are jonesing for whatever we can get as we cross our fingers about football starting soon. You can root for anyone but Djokovic with the diluted draw. You can root for Andy Murray in his oddly timed comeback. You can root for new talent Coco Gauff, but she already decided to lay an egg in the first round. Venus Williams is already out, but you can root for Serena Williams to move on from her US Open wins record to move to #24, the one that has eluded her for a while now. She just got the record for overall wins. Maybe Thiem snags this one with some of the big guns out of the mix. Maybe this is the tournament where up and comer American Frances Tiafoe makes a stand.
- MISCELLANEOUS: DJ. Dustin Johnson is married to Wayne Gretzky’s daughter, has won a Major, has dabbled with the party scene, and his life doesn’t suck. He is a tall, strong golfer who has a perfect body type and swing to win for years to come. He is also IN his prime fully. And, as we head to the next Major of the year, he looks pretty much BACK. He posts a THIRTY under in a tournament and wins by a mile, and then needs Jon Rahm to bury a 66-foot putt in sudden death to beat him the next week. He is consistent, has won one, and will be a factor again at the US Open.
- THIS AND THAT: RANDOM NOTES. Pizzeria Locale is a cheap, great tasting option for pizza. I don’t think DP Dough had the Mac and Cheese option pre-pandemic, and let me tell that it is fantastic. If you want a beer in a safe environment in the Highlands area, I recommend Local 46 and West End Tap House. Reason #1648 that the world is ending. Two hurricanes/tropical depressions were in the Gulf at the same time and threatened joining each other. Of course, a person in Hong Kong and a person in Nevada both getting COVID twice isn’t exactly uplifting either. Please tell me the RNC got better than the initial Trump speech, because I couldn’t watch any more after that. I draw the line in the sand when we talk about visiting Walmart or Target during these times, and the person who hugged people and then told them they had COVID is a warning shot enough for me. Todd Nance, an original Widespread Panic member died this past week, and I was happy to remember that I saw him live at Belly Up in Aspen years ago. I am not buying that Snoop drinks Corona, am buying he would wear that many clothes on the beach, but it all is moot, because when you see the video Hangover with him and the Gangnam Style dude, you will forget about Snoop and Coronas. If you order from Onefold in Uptown, get that brunch thing with eggs, sausage, and rice, and I back that it is off the hook. This doesn’t hit some of you as much as me or my parents probably, but Sean Connery is now NINETY years young. Wow. McDonald’s launched its first new chicken nugget in 40 years, and that is kind of cool, but sounds like a lazy marketing department to me. MSC Cruises is back on the water, and you probably are excited to be snug in a tiny boat elevator as I am. Did I read that the head of the USPS didn’t know a postage stamp cost? Or should I have actually read the article? Moving on. KFC is suspending its “finger licking good” tagline because we are in the middle of a pandemic of course. I have friends who are younger than me who haven’t even seen the old Bill & Ted’s and that horrifies me. It is just as horrifying as finding out that Macaulay Culkin turning FORTY. I watched a couple on my wife’s House Hunters show where they were looking in a coastal city in Ecuador and the woman was terrified of Tsunami’s. Wrong show, or wrong place to look for a new house. It is now September in Denver, meaning the outside on a DIME will start dropping the nightly temperature into perfect coolness. Love the weather out here. Of course, Dunkin and Harpoon (Boston) are making doughnut flavored beer, because it is 2020, life is confusing, and people are insane (song talked about two months ago here). I am very worried that winter is going to ruin half of these great outdoor venues every restaurant has adapted their location to. I read a HORRIBLE story about an officer’s wife dying in the back of his police car in the heat. That is horrible. Tenet looks really good and confusing, just the perfect movie to continue 2020 in. Red Rocks is having SHOWS now? I admit to not knowing that. My wife won’t let me get it, but this looks kind of cool. https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/26/success/backyard-sheds-work-from-home/index.html . I think I read an article about Elon Musk becoming the fourth richest person, and then swore I read one about him becoming the third richest one too like three days later. Seems like a fast transition. If you have never played Snake Oil, I would try it. You combine two ridiculously random cards to sell a “customer” your product. Senor Bear has nice spacing, great Queso, and changes their brunch menu every few weeks. Great place. We checked out Happy Camper also. Bring sunblock, as it is mostly outside with no shade, order the pizza with prosciutto and cream cheese, and know that it is subpar service going into it. I don’t think I saw one single video that won at the MTV VMA’s this year. The Kilaulea Volcano in Hawaii made a smiley face this week, and I didn’t know that was a regular thing. United Airlines is FINALLY nixing change fees. We only needed a pandemic and them making no money to FINALLY be like Southwest. MGM is firing 18,000 people it put on furlough. Vegas is offering telecommuting specials during the week now. Colorado’s sports betting increased by 55%, and table tennis is ranked THIRD in what they bet on. We might not ever see a true buffet again and that makes me sad. Chadwick Boseman died at 43 from cancer, and that is a big loss for the industry and for our world WAY too early.
- TWEET OF THE WEEK
ALTERNATE CATEGORIES THAT DIDN’T MAKE THE CUT:
- THE BEST WORKOUT SONG EVER FOR THIS WEEK (because the best song this week IS the best song ever…for now):
- QUOTE OF THE WEEK
- LINKS TO SAVE YOU TIME IN LIFE
- TRAVEL
- THIS WEEK’S LIST
- MY NUMBERS
- GONE FISHING (the riddle for money):
- PICS BY MY PIXEL (pictures from my phone):
- LIFEGUARD ENTRY:
- COLLEGE BASKETBALL
- THE FILLERBUSTER
The theme? Joker=Jokic. And I guess we are going against Batman and Robin.
And our weekly reminder of the greatest sequel ever made coming out next summer… Top Gun 2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8z1rqA8jRw
That’s it for today. Hope you enjoyed or are at least more informed. Remember two things. First, feed yourself, feed your family, but always, always remember to…feed the wolf. Second, if you can’t spot the sucker in your first half hour at the table, then you are the sucker. Will I blog again? That is a CLOWN question, bro. As one shepherd said to the other shepherd, let’s get the flock out of here.
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Dbacks deal marte to marlins
Trainer Lukas back after battling covid
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| mls postponements |
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| wnba protest games |
| man city messi |
| us open predictions |
| bob and mike ryan retire pre-us open 16 slams |
| bama 1000 cases |
| tour tiger out |
| rahm 66 foot putt beats DJ in playoff |
| wsop |
| us open predictions |
| record player |
| charlee pic update |
| the charlee monday shitstorm |
| camping nick brooke |
| John joey |
| starting fasting |
| say yes to life |
| house suddenly has problems |
| no camping |
| no stove-microwave for two days |
| deviled eggs |
| steps |
| breaker |
| no fantasy football |
| band practice |
| tulsa wedding |
| kristin wedding-band piano |
| harrell called luka bitchass white boy |
| nurse coy |
| bucks cruise game 3 |
| heat pacers game 3 |
| rockets thunder game 3 |
| blazers Lakers game 3 |
| Tyler herro |
| Luka injury |
| Strasbourg season ending surgery |
| trout rookie card sets record 3.3 mil |
| Jose abreu ties record six homers three game series |
| catch up |
| https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/29732868/everything-need-know-halfway-point-mlb-season |
| Lucas giolito no no? |
| mlb postponements |
| indians trade clevinger to padres |
| A’s acquire Minor |
Rockies get pillar
| round 2 |
| avs |
| nhl looks odd playing on wednesday |
| nhl meeting about postponing |
| Harrell white boy |
| 3 PT cover jamul |
| 5150 jamul donovan |
| sixers are a mess-no more process |
| celebrating the mamba |
| giannis dpoy |
| doc rivers opening up |
| all three nba games postponed/boycotted |
| kings fox leaves team USA pre Australia trip |
| play to resume, but second day postponed again |
| russell is back |
| new initiatives |
| Kenny smith |
| porzingis out series |
| riding Celtics home |
| melo found home portland |
| luka getting a little petty and feisty |
| vince carter joining espn |
Bucs pick up succop, waive fry
Nfl takes over Washington football team probe
Chiefs reach deal with reid, veach
Derwin james knee surgery, out
Pelicans ingram gets nba Most improved player
Three year old-kite
Two huge snakes fall into Australian house
Rome calling Donovan munster kid
Clowney still unsigned
Trump talking to big ten about playing
Rattler announced as starter for OU
Mixon gets 48 mil extension
Messi’s father talking to barca
Josh Gordon sells super bowl ring
Nflpa announces 10 positive tests
Kentucky derby
Tiz the law draws #17 kentucky derby
| pasta salad me |
| Rounders |
| gladiator |
| hornets luke |
| tropical depressions |
| jack Sherman dies peppers |
| John golly |
| usps spat |
| trump biden |
| fda approved covid treatment |
| Batman trailer Robert Pattinson |
| Wisconsin shooting |
| trump speaking is pure comedy |
| Herschel walker backs trump |
| usps issue |
Lions decker reach extension-offensive line set
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| denver air |
| sean connery turns 90 |
| msc cruises returns to water |
| jacob blake paralyzed from waist down |
| coaches pushing for arenas to be for voting |
| muy Tai progressive commercial |
| Santa Clara professor own home investigation |
| more kenosha shootings |
| Megan thee song my wife |
| RNC storm protests |
| fauci in surgery when cdc guidelines released |
| Word can now transcribe lectures |
| john lennon’s killer denied parole for 11th time |
| charles p. pierce tweet-god joins the resistance |
| Jerry |
| https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/27/opinions/jerry-seinfeld-right-about-new-york-sachs/index.html |
| aqua teen hunger force |
| bedet |
| sheep goes for 490k |
| Korean rap gangham |
| Buddha pants panic stop go Miami version |
| portland shooting |
| shooting wisco |
| mamba day |
| Jacob blake |
| protests |
| Portland protests |
Tropical smoothie café
