Joey Bat Flips, A Sad Situation for former NBA champ Lamar Odom, LeBron James’ Survivor’s Remorse

The Old Fashioned… 3-Point Play

I am an avid fitted baseball cap collector. I try to set myself aside from the common collector with a couple of simple rules that took me years to implement.

Rule #1: I only cop lids that the players wear on-field. This excludes the perforated looking spring training caps, but definitely includes New Era’s Cooperstown collection.

Rule #2: I steer clear of any teams the hot rapper of the day would wear. It may be hating, but I’ll keep my comments to myself about the guy that purchases a total of one ball cap… you guessed it, a navy Yankees cap all because that’s what Jay Z’s worn for the album cover artwork of a few of his best projects. You can’t imagine how bad I once scoffed at a partner, who with a straight face, asked me what team did my black Mets cap represent – I guess the interlocking NY looked awkward or something.

The Bucket

I mentioned my fitted baseball cap game because I purchased my authentic Toronto Blue Jays cap back in September 2013, going for a new look for a Vegas trip for the Mayweather vs Canelo mega-fight I foolishly thought I was going to watch live in-person. It was a new look because I have about 25 navy ball caps, and this lighter shade of blue was a great change of pace. Along with being excited that Toronto had switched back to its most popular logo – ball cap iconography in my opinion – that features the Blue Jay head the red maple leaf and their traditional hue a couple of years earlier, I was also keeping an eye on the talent they were assembling.

jose-bautistaSome well known talent had migrated to Canada by 2013 including Mark Buehrle, R.A. Dickey, Jose Reyes, Melky Cabrera, Edwin Encarnacion and the slugging Jose Bautista. The personnel moves failed to produce much even with the AL East big dogs, the Yankees and Red Sox, having significant problems franchises with league leading payrolls rarely experience. In an off year for those two clubs Buck Showalter led his Baltimore Orioles to the top of the American League East and a brief postseason appearance.

In 2015 Toronto’s ownership must have seen enough, and before this year’s trade deadline ace David Price and the proven bat of Troy Tulowitzki were added to a high powered offensive team. My Blue Jays lid had already become more of a staple in my fitted cap rotation as the team rattled off a pair of double digit win streaks in June and August. It quickly became apparent the franchise would represent the AL East in the 2015 playoffs.

The Blue Jays’ postseason got off to a shaky start, dropping the first two games at home, but the situation became even more alarming when Josh Donaldson suffered a knee to the head in Game One, causing his availability for the rest of the series to become a concern. The team’s regular season leader in batting average and HR’s would ultimately return to the lineup in Game Two in which he would hit his first of two HR’s for the ALDS.

Furthermore, as it turned out, the Blue Jays’s 0-2 series deficit was only setting the stage to treat their fans to Game Five’s thrilling action. Toronto entered the deciding game’s seventh inning tied 2-2, but fell behind 2-3 after catcher Russell Martin‘s return throw to the mound took a detour after deflecting off the bat of Rangers hitter Sin-Choo Soo. This awkard occurrence allowed a runner to score from third base. Blue Jays manager protested the call but the run stood.

Once the field was cleared of the debris thrown onto it by the frustrated home crowd the Blue Jays would go to work in the bottom of the inning. Well, actually, the Rangers infield failed to go to work as they combined for three consecutive errors that culminated with a monster Jose Bautista 3-run homer followed by a gladiator-styled-are-you-not-entertained bat flip.

More madness ensued from the raucous fans, more debris was thrown from the stands, the police hit the field and the Rangers relief pitcher, Sam Dyson, let everybody know that he disapproved of Bautista’s immature display. I am fully aware of baseball’s tradition, unwritten rules and its on-field decorum; and, in years past it has never deterred me from tuning in to MLB games. But, damn that!

Bautista may have certainly disrespected the ball Dyson hurled his way, but his celebration in no way showed up the disappointed pitcher. It was nothing personal. I understand the moment that Dyson had after losing the lead in that spot. But, I’m totally okay with a hitter’s bat flip being equal to the magnitude of the moment multiplied by the sum of the averages of the ball’s traveling speed, distance traveled, and trajectory. That formula probably isn’t mathematical at all, but Joey Bats calculated it perfectly in his head. I’m not suggesting he should have hit the Quan the final 10′ before home plate, but a little celebration would’ve been acceptable. The only problem is now I probably have to give my Blue Jays cap the hook, and replace it with something else from fitted bullpen.

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Before this next topic, Lamar Odom’s ongoing fight for his life, I want to be clear that none of my thoughts are intended to make light of his situation or be insensitive towards him and his family. The circumstances that led up to him being found unresponsive by some women at a legal brothel in Nye County, Nevada are unfortunate. Now that Odom has been hospitalized and is under the proper care one would hope that the humiliation aspect of this ordeal would cease, but no way that is going to happen on the Kardashian gang’s watch.
Khloe Kardashian making her way to the bedside of her ex-husband as he lays in a coma is by no means egregious, and it’s totally understandable that at least Kim and Kourtney would be in tow to support their baby sister at such a troubling time. However, for Odom’s sake, it would have been respectful for the Kardashian sisters to suspend any interaction with the press – at least until Lamar was truly out of the woods regarding his recovery.
I was beyond appalled when I heard a news reporter at the scene state: Odom has supposedly squeezed Kim Kardashian’s hand.
Seriously?

It just had to be Kim to witness the first signs of movement, right? Not his ex-wife Khloe. I mean just a few months earlier I was privileged, or subjected, to being enlightened by Kim K on the proper way for a family to be nurturing and compassionate as a beloved family member sorts out the issues associated with transgender living, in the wake of Bruce Jenner’s transition into Caitlyn.
I am so indebted to Kim, I honestly could not have figured out how to unconditionally love another person without those heartfelt pointers she shared.
Ideally I would have appreciated the Kardashians handling Lamar’s situation and respecting his and his children’s privacy by limiting their comments to the media the way the Brown and Houston families did throughout the months Bobbi Christina was hospitalized after being found unresponsive from an apparent drug overdose. I know the attention drawn by Bobby Brown’s name or image being attached to comments pale in comparison to any story that features footage or a photo of a Kardashian, or just the name in print. But, this tragedy isn’t remotely about them.

I truly feel sorry that the early news surrounding Odom’s situation could be tainted by the odd combination of Kim’s ominous celebrity, and former HBO reality TV star and Bunny Ranch owner Dennis Hof. The hell did this man to do to deserve such a bad deal? What was wrong with going with a neurologist in a white coat or some aqua green scrubs?
As for Odom’s recovery from what has been reported as several days of heavy drinking and substance abuse, it seems like we can only hope for the best and standby as time to does its thing. The two-time NBA champion was never noted for exhibiting the commitment on the court to fully maximize his all-around skill set paired with his 6’10” frame to be one of the game’s elite players, but now we are learning that maybe a bevy of real life matters prohibited the man from ever having the singular focus required to play basketball at the level of his former teammate Kobe Bryant.
For some, access to Khloe and Lamar’s activities of their daily lives may have been wildly entertaining and millions of viewers learned a lot about the man, and the show even scratched the surface of some of his darker past. I don’t recall seeing much about Odom’s three children, I vividly recall his discomfort with maintaining any relationship with his father, I do remember Khloe being deeply concerned when Lamar struggled on the court, and her cheering loudly from courtside when he excelled.
Odom is a long way down the road from his days as a potential matchup problem on any given night as a star player for the Heat, Clippers, Lakers and Mavericks but hopefully an adulthood battle with depression has failed to permanently shut down the former 6th Man of the Year. If the former Univ. of Rhode Island Ram standout continues to improve and is one day able to resume his life, perhaps people will no longer just watch him but they will take the time to listen to him so he can begin to win off the court as well.
The And 1

I am surprised premium cable network Starz’s LeBron James executive produced TV series Survivor’s Remorse, or Survivor’s F#@kin’ Remorse (I’ll explain later), has nearly completed its second season without much widespread fanfare. Or, maybe I just revealed that I reside under a rock.
In contrast to HBO’s Ballers, I did catch an interview of one of its stars, Omar Benson Miller (Charles Greane), in an interview on an ESPN radio show during lunch one day. And, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s Ballers has been mentioned in the barbershop, during conversations with a partner or family member, as well as on a podcast or two I follow.
We’re talking about LeBron James though! The best basketball player on the entire planet (note: not my personal favorite)! Johnson is swiftly establishing himself as one of Hollywood’s biggest stars… and his movie game ain’t bad either. That bit probably was doomed in-person or in print!
But come on; is football still king even in the world of Hollywood sports? With the exception of The Rock – and in my opinion a breakout performance by newcomer and Denzel Washington’s son John David – I would side with SR’s cast of Tichina Arnold (Martin), Mike Epps (Next Friday and I believe an upcoming lead as Richard Pryor), relative newcomer Jessie Usher and RonReaco Lee (Let’s Stay Together) as the better between the two shows.

Ballers did have an exceptional first season, probably besting Survivor’s in 2014, but I am still shocked to see the James Empire losing at much of anything. Power has garnered a nice following while being on Starz versus HBO, so I would expect Survivor’s to fare well also.
Depending on which site you prefer viewer’s ratings tell two different stories for Ballers and SR, Ballers is regarded more highly on imdb.com while SR is the favorite by a significant margin on rottentomatoes.com – including a large gap between the Top Critics score. I would lean towards imdb.com.
In closing, Survivor’s is extremely well written – maybe a little overcooked for a kid that skipped college for NBA riches and stardom right out of high school – and the show has taken its time to address a host of realistic scenarios one could imagine a NBA superstar would encounter. The best part of the show is the central story is family oriented in terms of Cam Calloway’s (Jessie Usher) family surrounds him to help him sidestep the challenges of being young, rich and fame in 2015 while also being financially supported by Cam’s lucrative free agency contract and a Chinese sneaker company’s endorsement deal.
Cam’s right-hand Reggie (RonReaco Lee), his business manager/agent, is arguably putting in the show’s strongest performance as guides Cam’s moves while also learning the rules of old money at the same time. Increasingly the F-bomb has become the go-to word for most of the dialogue and humor with Mama Calloway (Tichina Arnold) challenging Reggie as the lead offender. The foul language isn’t an impediment for storylines, but the usage has become noticeable – perhaps the word is used to express the family member’s beliefs in their stances on the show.

 

My last highlight for SR is the sheer beauty I can’t help but notice each episode as Reggie’s wife Missy (Teyonah Parris) increases in her on-screen time. Missy is the most grounded character of the lot, and if you are familiar with Black America’s complex with its many different hues of brown and hair textures, you would recognize what’s turning out to be the substance amid the show’s spectacle.
My only real problem with the show is after each episode I’m left feeling like The Usual Suspects’ Keaton after him and McManus had risked their lives pulling off a heist, killing off the entire crew of a ship thought to have some expensive cargo only to learn: There’s no hoops! There is no hoops!
After roughly 18 episodes we still don’t know what Cam’s team’s uniforms look like, who the coach is, or who any of his teammates are… And, I think he’s only held one basketball, as he was signing 100’s of them for a charity event.
Season Two of Survivor’s Remorse is winding down soon, and I’m all in for a Season 3, but I think the show needs to be fleshed out a little bit more. Heck, we even saw Drama on-set a couple of times before Entourage ended! We need to see Cam either cross somebody up for a step back game winning jumper, or posterize some rim protector on a monster dunk.
Or, maybe the show’s popularity has grown slowly because of the show’s title itself…

#BeatSparty

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R.L. Woodson

Cinephile, audiophile, and avid sports fan. I am the creator and host of the Pay Me No Mind sports and entertainment podcast found on TalkLoudRadio. I podcast and write to cope with my continuing struggle to play guitar.

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