Sports should never become this.
Before the start of tonight’s University of Miami vs Virginia Tech football game, some fans decided to take it WAY over the line.
Barstool Sports Tweeted out a picture of the following banner that they found in Blacksburg.
Just awful.
The banner mentions Jose Fernandez, a 24 year old Miami Marlins player who died in late September in a boating accident.
Gross.
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Kobe Is Not Great Anymore And That’s Been Brutal For Lakers Fans To Figure Out
By Ikeem Boyd
As a lifelong Los Angeles Lakers fan, Kobe Bryant’s decision to retire from the game of basketball is bittersweet.
He’s my favorite player of all time and played a huge role in raising five championship banners.
Kobe is the Lakers; the Lakers are Kobe’s team. That’s just the way that it’s always been for the entirety of my fandom and most of my life.
I’ve grown up with Kobe, and I can’t fathom an NBA season without him. Like every other Laker fan, and basketball fan for that matter, I’ll be sad that he’s gone. But at the same time, Bryant has left us all with great memories and he deserves to be celebrated for the remainder of the 2015-16 season.
The current version of Kobe Bryant is hard to watch. Seeing Bryant shoot 30 percent from the field on a nightly basis is tough.
His decision to retire is the right one. It’s not only best for Bryant as an individual, but it’s also best for the Lakers as franchise.
The Lakers can now focus on re-building the team around their young core of D’Angelo Russell, Jordan Clarkson and Julius Randle.
Lakers fans leave the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Photo Credit:johrling/Flickr (CC By 2.0)
Greatest Ever?
There’s always been this great debate about who’s the greatest basketball player of all-time. Let me preface what I’m about to say, by stating that I was born in 1992.
When Michael Jordan was dominating the NBA and winning championships with the Chicago Bulls, I was a young kid. I didn’t follow or fully understand the game of basketball then.
Even though I didn’t witness the Jordan era, I’m aware of his greatness, what he accomplished and what he did on a global scale for the NBA and game of basketball.
With all that being said, Kobe Bryant is the closest thing to Michael Jordan; he’s the best basketball player of my generation and the best basketball player that I have ever witnessed live.
I don’t really enjoy ranking the all-time greats because each is great in their own way and they each brought something unique to the table.
Besides, I haven’t been around long enough to have seen all of them live. It’s tough to make rankings off of highlight packages, vintage games on ESPN Classic and on statistics. I do know the greats of my generation, though, and who I got to see growing up.
The great players of my generation include: Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan, Shaquille O’Neal, Allen Iverson, Tracy McGrady, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and a few others that are escaping me at the moment. Out of that bunch, there’s only one player that you can argue has had a better career than Bryant and that is Duncan. Bryant’s resume speaks for itself.
Where does that rank Bryant amongst the all-time greats? I can’t tell you. Everyone that you talk to will give you a different list. What I can tell you is that regardless of where you believe Bryant ranks on the list of all-time greats, he’ll always be in the discussion.
Although this season is looking like it’s going be another lost one for the Lakers, I’m excited to see how Kobe goes out. It’ll also be cool to see how the NBA, its players, coaches, and fans show their appreciation for Bryant and all that he’s done.
I’m hoping that during my next visit to Los Angeles, I’ll be able to catch a Lakers game. I have to witness greatness in person…one last time.
Thank you for a wonderful 20-year journey, Kobe. Basketball won’t be the same without you.
Cover Photo Credit: Keith Allison/ Flickr (CC By 2.0)
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Missouri Head Football Coach Gary Pinkel With Resign At End Of Season
In a press release, University of Missouri head football coach Gary Pinkel announced that he will stepping down from his position at the end of the season.
Pinkel said that the decision was due to his health. He was was diagnosed in May of 2015 with lymphoma. He received multiple treatments in May and June, and has decided to step down at the end of the year.
“I made the decision in May, after visiting with my family, that I wanted to keep coaching, as long as I felt good and had the energy I needed,” Pinkel said. “I felt great going into the season, but also knew that I would need to re-assess things at some point, and I set our bye week as the time when I would take stock of the future. After we played Vanderbilt (Oct. 24), I had a scheduled PET scan on Oct. 26th for reassessment, and then visited with my family and came to the decision on October 27th that this would be my last year coaching. I still feel good physically, but I decided that I want to focus on enjoying my remaining years with my family and friends, and also have proper time to battle the disease and give full attention to that.”
Pinel has come to national prominence lately after he supported his players after they refused to play until university president Tim Wolfe would resign.
Cover Photo Credit: Tim Tai/ Flickr (CC By 2.0)
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Messi Resigns Argentina National Team After Losing Copa América
After nearly a one-month long tournament, the Copa América came to an end with a re-match game between Argentina and Chile. History repeated itself Sunday night at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey as both soccer teams played head-to-head for the Copa title in its 100-year celebration. Similar to the 2015 games that were hosted in… Read More
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