by Nick Brower | Apr 18, 2018 | SPORTS
The MLB traveled to Puerto Rico last night to begin a series down on the island. Baseball runs deep in Puerto Rico and many current players hail from there. The MLB has begun the Puerto Rico series to celebrate the rich baseball heritage and give back to a community that truly loves the game. Cleveland and Minnesota have the honor of playing in the series, and for Indians shortstop Francisco Lindor, that means he gets to go home. Frankie Lindor or “Paquito” is beloved in his home country, especially after he and the Puerto Rican team did so well in the most recent World Baseball Classic. Lindor was beyond excited to play at Hiram Bithorn Stadium in San Juan, and he did not disappoint the packed house that came out to see him. He stepped to the plate in the fifth inning and cracked a 2-run home run to break a scoreless tie. The stadium, the city, hell the whole island erupted and you could probably hear the cheers in Florida. The hometown kid came home and delivered. The Indians would go on to hit 3 more homers and win 6-1. After the game, Lindor explained what it meant for him to be home in many interviews in both English and Spanish. “I’m in Puerto Rico in front of my family, in front of my friends, in front of this beautiful Puerto Rican crowd,” Lindor said. “I’m just excited. I touched second base and looked in the dugout. Everybody’s hands are up, so I put my hands up. I looked around the stadium, everybody’s are up, so I keep putting my hands up and running.” The MLB made its return to Puerto Rico in electric fashion and I’m looking forward to what will come next in this great series.
by Nick Brower | Apr 18, 2018 | SPORTS
The Las Vegas Golden Knights continued their historic season last night with another win over the Kings. The 1-0 victory secured the opening series and the Golden Knights became the first team in NHL history to sweep a series in their inaugural season, and just the second team to sweep the first series in franchise history (1970 Penguins). Marc Andre Fleury was the star again, stopping all 31 shots he saw for his second shutout of the postseason. Bryan McNabb delivered the deciding goal on a one-timer in the second period. The Golden Knights now wait for the winner of the Anaheim San Jose series and look to continue making history in their inaugural season. No NHL expansion team has won the Cup in their first season, but Vegas is giving it their best shot.
by Nick Brower | Apr 17, 2018 | MUSIC, ON THIS DAY IN HIPHOP
Alright ladies and gentlemen, we’ve got a busy one today so try to keep up. Let’s start it off with a few big birthday shout outs. Afrika Bambaattaa turns 61 today. Bambaattaa was one of the best DJs to ever do it, bringing a dope electronic vibe to the genre. He brought us classics like “Planet Rock” and was a major influence in the creation of the Zulu Nation. Zulu’s have brought us more dope tracks than I can count. Today is also Redman’s birthday, as he turns 48. Redman is as 90’s as it gets. Known best for his work with Method Man, Redman brought raw skills to the mic and has countless quotable punchlines.
In non-birthday news, A Tribe Called Quest released their debut album on this date in 1990. People’s Instinctive Travels and Paths Of Rhythm introduced the world to the group from Queens. I’ve already told y’all about my love affair with Tribe and their music. This album brought us classics such as “Push It Along”, “Bonita Applebum”, and “Can I Kick It?”. The album is certified gold and widely recognized as one of the best of all time. Tribe brought a completely new lyrical style to laid back production and pushed the genre forward in a major way. If you haven’t listened to it yet, you’re buggin’. Definitely check it out ASAP.
As far as the playlist goes, we’re going to start to do it a little differently. We will be updating the playlist weekly from now and it will include all the music necessary for the upcoming week. So be patient, I promise I’ll be sending plenty of dope music your way real soon.
by Nick Brower | Apr 17, 2018 | SPORTS
We’ve got three big games on the docket for tonight in the NBA Playoffs. Toronto and Washington will get it started at 7PM ET. The Raptors took game 1 114-106 in a physical battle. John Wall and Bradley Beal were upset with the officials, feeling that the Raptors got away with a lot of holding throughout the game. I think game 2 will come down to the officiating again. Toronto needs to continue to be physical with the Wizard’s dynamic guards if they want to stay in the driver’s seat. Wall and Beal have the ability to take over a series, but if Toronto can continue to get away with a little dirty defense they have enough firepower to keep up.
Boston and Milwaukee will get underway at 8PM ET as they continue their series. Their first game was on overtime thriller. Giannis did all he could, pouring in 35 points, 13 boards, and 7 assists but it just wasn’t enough. The Celtics are a much deeper team here. Even if they can’t figure out how to slow down the Greek Freak, I think they are in good shape here. Brown and Tatum both had great games in their playoff debuts and Al Hortford let his veteran presence be felt with 24 and 12. Look for the Celtics to focus on Giannis more and make the rest of the Bucks step up their game. I don’t think they have enough help to get it done.
New Orleans and Portland will play the nightcap, getting started at 10:30PM ET. As I expected, the Blazers had no answer for Anthony Davis. Davis carried the Pelicans to a 97-95 victory, scoring 35 and grabbing 14 boards. I just don’t see anyone on the Blazers being able to stop Davis. If they have any chance, Dame Lillard and McCollum have to play better. They both shot the ball pretty poorly. The good news is that they only lost by 2. If Lillard and McCollum can find their strokes, they can probably outscore Davis and the Pelicans. This is big one for them, you can’t afford to lose both games 1 and 2 at home. They need this one bad.
by Nick Brower | Apr 17, 2018 | SPORTS
The Miami Heat tied their series with Philly up at one last night with a 113-103 win. Joel Embiid took to social media after the game to air out his frustrations. He posted the classic black screen with words on his Instagram story, “Fucking sick and tired of being babied.” Embiid is pissed that he has been held out of the first two games of the series due to an orbital bone fracture. He thinks he’s ready to play after being fitted for a mask. This is a funny turn of events from the man who has been preaching “trust the process” harder than the Philly execs. I don’t really blame him though. The 76ers have a legit shot at making the Finals this year. The East is real weak and if they got hot they can take any team. But they have no shot without Embiid, an last night proved that. Without Embiid, this is a very average team. But with him, they are a true contender. Yes, the future is bright in Philly and they should be cautious. But you can’t throw away a chance at a title run here over an injury that he can play through. You never know what next year will bring. I would expect to see Embiid in the next game and his presence will allow the Sixers to roll past Miami.
