Greetings all,
I'm currently aboard American Airlines Flight 290 service to New York, New York to visit my sister. So what better time to crank out a quick blog post? I really wish the 280lb behemoth next to me in seat 25B had bought two seats to accommodate his heftiness. I also hope he isn't peering over my shoulder reading this.
On to more pertinent matters. The invention and subsequent growth of YouTube has brought every relevant (and wildly irrelevant) sports moment to the palm of your hand. Below I've compiled some of my favorite clips.
Kevin Durant's First Visit to Rucker Park
Three years ago, the NBA lockout prevented players from training in team facilities until an agreement was reached between the NBA owners and the Player's Association on a new CBA. As a result, Kevin Durant (and many others) had to find alternate ways to stay in playing shape. Fortunately for us, KD35 took his wet jumper to Rucker Park in August 2011. Since its inception, Harlem's renowned Rucker Park has played host to streetball legends and NBA Hall of Famers alike. Quick tangent: Joakim Noah, per Wiki, visited Rucker Park back in 2006. I love Noah as a player, but how exactly does he put on a show at Rucker? By relentlessly attacking the offensive glass or berating his teammates for missing a defensive rotation? Who knows. Finishing with 66 points (record is 74), Durant had an out-of-body experience as he buried deep 3s on 4 consecutive possessions. He shut the place down with the fourth as the crowd mobbed him at mid-court. With no thanks to the ghetto fabulous dawg MC-ing the game, this video is awesome even for non-KD apologists.
Aquille Carr HoopMixtape
Generously listed at 5'7, Aquille Carr stars in one of the more entertaining hoopmixtapes on YouTube. Carr had initially committed to Seton Hall, but last-minute decided to play overseas in 2012. Carr's gravity-defying ability to change direction on a dime has had more than his hometown of Baltimore buzzing. To me, more impressive than his ankle-breaking handles, are the few blocked shots in the reel in which he meets much taller players at the rim. Aquille Carr may not get a shot in the NBA, but he should be able to make a healthy living playing basketball--somewhere. I'll forever remember his entertaining, hood-rat style. You do you, Aquille.
Trey Burke The Shot
I was at this game, sitting right behind the media in the front row on the baseline. I recognized the two guys in front of me as the main contributors to UMhoops.com, a blog I have followed religiously since 2007-2008. As the Kansas lead swelled to 14 with less than 7 minutes remaining, I saw them booking a return flight home to Detroit. The writing was on the wall. And then it wasn't. Michigan cruelly roped me back in after I had nearly accepted defeat by chipping away at the deficit. Miraculously, Michigan found itself in a dogfight in the final minute. Kansas guard Elijah Johnson, who purposely punched Mitch McGary in the balls earlier in the game, stepped to the line for a 1-and-1 with 12.6 seconds remaining. Karmically, he missed. Then it happened. In a state of euphoria, I think I blacked out in the immediate aftermath of "The Shot" (Yes, I'm fully aware I'm one of roughly 18 people in the world who refer to this play as "The Shot"). When I gathered my wits I was jumping uncontrollably while violently yanking on the shirts of Joe and Dylan from UMHoops. A security guard then threatened to remove me from the stadium if I touch a media row member again. Whatever you want, officer. Then Michigan tore through the bracket to the 'ship where...let's not talk about that.
ESPN SportsCenter Images of the Decade
My all-time favorite video. It combines everything we love about sports: utter despair, jubilation, and the element of "You Literally Cannot Make This Shit Up." It also incorporates noteworthy cultural events like 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina, both of which undoubtedly had an affect on the sports world. This video production itself is a reminder that ESPN is not the World Wide Leader on accident. An underrated cool thing about the video: the lyrics to the song (Clocks by Coldplay for any of you noobs) is synced to describe what is unfolding on the screen. Not sure how else I can do this video justice, but if you are only interested in watching only one of the above clips, please make it this one.