by Nick Brower | Apr 13, 2018 | SPORTS
The Colin Kaepernick story refuses to go away. News broke today that the former NFL QB was offered a workout with the Seattle Seahawks, but that invite was rescinded after Kaepernick refused to commit to stopping his National Anthem protests. Kaepernick and the NFL are currently going head to head in a lawsuit in which Kaepernick is accusing the league and its owners of colluding to keep him unemployed. Kaepernick has not received a contract offer since he last played for the 49ers. This isn’t a coincidence. The owners did not take kindly to Kaepernick and his actions. Kaepernick is responsible for starting a chain reaction of players all over the league taking a knee during the National Anthem before games. This hit the owners where it hurts the most, in their pockets. Many fans became upset with the league and vowed to boycott teams with protesting players, or the league in general. The owners are trying to send a message to players all over that this will not be tolerated. Kaepernick isn’t going quietly though, and I don’t blame him. No one in their right mind can make the argument that Kaepernick is not one of the top 64 quarterbacks in the world. Is he a superstar? No. But he is definitely a better quarterback then a lot of backups on current rosters and even a handful of starters. He deserves a job and he is being blackballed by the owners because he refuses to play their game. It is flat out wrong. No employer, regardless of your job, has the right to force you to mimic their political views. Kaepernick’s protest had nothing to do with the league, it was centered around social injustices, mainly those committed against people of color. I hope Kaepernick continues his fight against the league. This latest incident was likely a chess move in the current collusion case. I believe it was an effort by the NFL to show that they were giving him a fair shake, and I believe they walked right into Kaep’s trap. This is only more proof that the owners are working against him to keep him, and his politics, out of the league. “Sure, you can come back, but only if you cut that kneeling nonsense out.” They are trying to stop these protests by cutting off the head of the movement. I firmly believe Colin Kaepernick will never play in the league again, but other players cannot let his sacrifice be in vein. The protests should continue, and the league should be made to suffer for trying to silence them.
by Nick Brower | Apr 12, 2018 | MUSIC, ON THIS DAY IN HIPHOP
Today was a relatively slow day in hip hop history, so I’m gonna dig real deep to bring y’all some knowledge. Let me bring it back to 1960 and the third annual Grammy Awards. The legendary Ray Charles took home four Grammy’s that night. Two of them were for his work on the classic “Georgia On My Mind”. Now y’all might be thinking, “Why is he talking about Ray Charles when we’re supposed to be learning about hip hop?” Ray Charles has been a huge influence in hip hop. Many artists have referenced him and his lyrics. And he has been sampled in over 100 songs, many of them being hip hop tracks. Ray Charles music was beyond soulful. His voice is one in a million and his skills on the piano are untouchable, even before you consider that he was blind. So today’s playlist is going to look a little different. We’re gonna throw up a bunch of classic Ray Charles songs and some of the hip hop tracks that sampled him. The Charles song will be followed by the tracks with the sample, so see if you can pick them all out. I couldn’t find all of the Ray Charles tracks I was hoping for, so I added some newer songs that have Charles samples without the Ray song to go with it. Appreciating hip hop is appreciating all music. So much of hip hop is pulled in from other genres of music, so why not pay homage to one of the best musicians of all time. Enjoy stretching out your musical palate tonight and I’ll see you back here tomorrow for another hip hop history lesson.
by Nick Brower | Apr 12, 2018 | SPORTS
The NBA regular season came to a crazy end last night. The Wolves needed overtime to beat the Nuggets in a game that would decide the final playoff spot in the West. Russ Westbrook needed 34 rebounds in his last two games to average a triple double on the season and of course he went and got them. Westbrook became the first player in NBA history to average a triple double for an entire season twice, and he did it two years in a row. A handful of close games decided all the seeding, and finally we have our playoff matchups. I’ll give you my picks and a quick breakdown for each series. The team with home court will be listed first in each matchup.
Golden State V. San Antonio:
Golden State should move on pretty easily here, even without Curry. The Spurs haven’t looked good in awhile and are clearly not the same team without Leonard. Look for Golden State to win this series comfortably as they get their roster ready for a deeper run.
Toronto V. Washington:
This series will come down to the battle in the backcourt. Lowry, Derozan and the Raptors are definitely the favorites here, but Wall and Beal can ball with the best of them. Expect the Wizards to give the Raptors a run for their money. At the end of the day I’ve got Toronto moving on, but they’ll have to work for it.
Philadelphia V. Miami:
No one expected Philly to have home court in their opener, let alone finish at the 3 seed. I think Philly continues to shock people and moves on here. It will come down to Joel Embiid’s health. If he can be his usual self behind the mask, they’ll be in good shape. If not, Hassan Whiteside will give the 76ers problems. I think Embiid will be fine though, and the Sixers will move on.
Portland V. New Orleans:
This is one of the more intriguing first round series. The question will be if Anthony Davis can get enough help to keep up with Dame and CJ McCollum. I don’t see anyone on the Blazers being able to slow down Davis, but not many people can slow down that dynamic backcourt either. And we already know how clutch Lillard is. I’m going with Portland in a real close series here.
Boston V. Milwaukee:
A couple days ago, I would have given serious thought to the Bucks pulling off an upset here. But they’ve looked pretty bad lately and if they continue to play that way they won’t be able to beat Boston, even without Kyrie. Look for Boston’s rookie 1-2 punch to play well here and get some much needed experience. I don’t see Boston going very far this year, but I do think they’ll beat the Bucks here in the first round.
Cleveland V. Indiana:
No one around the league had Cleveland finishing fourth in the East, but here we are. And I think its going to take a toll on them. They’ll beat the Pacers, but it won’t be easy. They made their path to the Finals way harder then it had to be. And I think it will catch up with them. LeBron played all 82 this season, and now he’ll have to play some more tough ones. Let’s see if it catches up with him.
Oklahoma City V. Utah:
This will be another great series. The Jazz came out of nowhere this year and that defense is legit. It will be put to the test though against OKC’s big three. No one is really sure if the big three is gelling to its full potential, but this will surely be a test for them. Ultimately, I think Utah’s youth catches up to them and a veteran-filled roster for the Thunder get it done in a close series.
Houston V. Minnesota:
Minnesota took big strides this season and will be a contender in a year or two. But right now, they are out of their league. Houston will roll the Twolves here and get ready for their next series pretty quickly.
Well there you have it folks. The NBA playoffs will kick off this weekend with half of the series getting started on Saturday and the rest of them starting on Sunday. Be sure to check back here after the weekend to stay up to date as we move towards the Finals.
by Nick Brower | Apr 12, 2018 | SPORTS
The brawl in Boston wasn’t the only one yesterday in the MLB. The Rockies and Padres also got it popping in Colorado. Nolan Arenado charged the mound after Luis Perdomo threw behind him with the first pitch of the bottom of the third inning. Reason would lead us to believe that this was retaliation for Scott Oberg hitting Manuel Margot in Tuesday’s game between the two teams. Arenado was clearly hot, he broke into a full sprint to chase down Perdomo and began swinging once he got within range. Arenado was ejected, along with Perdomo, A.J. Ellis, German Marquez, and Gerardo Parra. All but Perdomo threw punches. Arenado successfully lit a fire under his team though, who have been struggling at the plate. The Rockies went on to score 5 runs in that same inning and won the game 6-4. The passive fan must be thrilled to see all of this fighting in baseball, but I’m not sure that the league will feel the same way. I would expect players involved in both games to receive suspensions as the league tries to tone teams down and remove the fisticuffs from the sport. From my point of view, it’s great for the sport. The use of instant replay challenges has taken away the fun of watching a manager bug out on an umpire and getting thrown out. This restores some of that excitement between pitches. Now I’m not saying I want to see a fight in every game, but it is good to see some passion from the players once and awhile. This series is over, so we’ll have to wait to see if this is the end of the bad blood between San Diego and Colorado. But we won’t have to wait too long, as the two have another three game series starting on April 23rd.
by Nick Brower | Apr 12, 2018 | SPORTS
After a blowout loss two nights ago, the Yankees showed up to Fenway pissed off last night. It didn’t take long for them to blow off some of that steam. The Yankees chased David Price out of the game after scoring 4 runs in the first. Giancarlo Stanton hit a 2-run triple to the deepest part of the ballpark and Gary Sanchez scored him two batters later with a high home run over the Green Monster. Sanchez wasn’t done for the night. The Yankees catcher finally seemed to get his timing down and finished with an insane 3-5 with two homers, a double, 4 RBIs, and 3 runs. Sanchez and Stanton showing signs of life is great news for Yankees fans, but it wasn’t the biggest story of the night. The historic rivalry is back in full swing. This game was a throwback to the early 2000s, the talent is back, and so is the hatred. On the scoreboard, the Yankees were the last ones standing in a 10-7 slugfest. But the scoreboard wasn’t the only place punches were thrown.
It all started in the third inning when Tyler Austin slid hard into second base and spiked shortstop Brock Holt. Holt took offense to Austin’s slide and after a little jawing back and forth both benches and bullpens cleared. The scrum was uneventful, just a lot of shouting. But it set the tone for the night, and the rest of the season for these two teams. Later in the game, Boston’s fireball pitcher Joe Kelly sent a message to Austin in the form of a 98mph fastball to the back. He didn’t take kindly to the slide back in the third and was standing up for his shortstop. Austin, of course, did not take kindly to the beaning either. He damn-near snapped his bat in half on the plate and began to walk out towards the mound. Kelly removed his glove, returned words, and the brawl was on. Benches quickly cleared again, but this one was not as verbal. Austin came out swinging at Joe Kelly and Aaron Judge quickly had Kelly in a headlock. Kelly got a few good punches in on Austin in the scrum and left him with a bloody lip as the pile got pushed towards the Boston dugout. A handful of players were ejected on both sides, and just like that, the best rivalry in sports has been reignited.
Regardless of who you root for, these teams hating each other is great for the game. As much as the league will tell you they don’t want this violence on the field, the fans love it and they know that. It brings a level of excitement to the game that goes beyond your diehard fans. This rivalry gives people who normally don’t watch baseball a reason to tune in. And with both of these teams fully loaded and expected to be in the playoff hunt, it will make for a full season of drama. They’ve still got 15 meetings left this year, and they’ll all be must-see-tv.
As for the teams, this might just serve as the spark they need. The Yankees haven’t quite got it clicking yet on offense, but last night’s 10-run outburst and the pair of brawls should snap them into shape. Both Sanchez and Stanton had good nights last night and it looks like they’re finally headed in the right direction. The Red Sox haven’t been playing as well as their record reflects and have taken advantage of weak opponents before this series. They could use a good kick in the ass like this to start playing up to their potential. Round three will get underway tonight at 7PM. Sonny Gray and Rick Porcello will be the starters. Let’s see who can take the rubber match and the win the first series between the two division foes.
